


Zyxt

by Batsutousai



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-20
Updated: 2011-11-22
Packaged: 2017-10-23 21:39:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 66,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/255280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batsutousai/pseuds/Batsutousai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alone in Time Compression, Squall sets out to make them all a happier ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Won't Make It Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Snafu](https://archiveofourown.org/works/213674) by [Shivani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shivani/pseuds/Shivani). 
  * Inspired by [Second Chances](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/50981) by emcey squared. 



> **Disclaim Her:** This story uses characters and settings owned by Square Enix. No money is being made from the creation of this fanfic, and no copywrite infringement is intended. Some lines may be taken word-for-word from the game.
> 
>  **A/N:** This whole fic has been beta'd by the amazing [Shivani](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Shivani) and the gorgeous [Shara Lunison](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SharaLunison).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I really kinda like those 'New Game +' types of fics that take the all-too-common video game shtick which lets you start the game again with certain perks after beating it once. Of course, FFVIII doesn't have a NG+ – none of the _Final Fantasy_ games do, except X-2 – but like that's going to stop me. This idea bit me and I had little chance but to go along for the ride.  
>  This fic, just as a warning, isn't even going to _loosely_ follow the game path. Squall's here to change things, and he's going to damn-well change them.
> 
> I may have been reading too many FFVIII fics of late, but I'll try not to steal anyone's ideas, or step on any toes. This fic _does_ owe some inspiration to [Second Chances](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5616802/1/Second_Chances) , by [emcey squared](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/987676/emcey_squared). Also one or two minor plot points borrowed from Shivani's [Snafu](http://archiveofourown.org/works/213674), which she okayed.

_'...I'm not alone. ...If I call out, they will answer,'_ Squall thought to himself as the darkness of Time Compression surrounded him again, cutting Matron and his younger self away from sight. He looked around, heart in his throat at the darkness, and shouted, "Where is everyone!? Rinoa! Where are you!? Rinoa! Zell! Irvine! Quistis! Selphie!"

No one answered and he felt an ancient sinking feeling in his heart. _'...Am I...alone? Rinoa?'_ He started to run, feeling a little desperate at the lack of answer. Had he been abandoned? Again?

 _'They wouldn't abandon me,'_ he snapped at himself, swallowing against the knot in his throat. _'They... Rinoa wouldn't–'_

But Rinoa had already left him once, hadn't she? She'd been taken over by Ultimecia in Galbadia Garden. And maybe that wasn't her fault, but it was...

 _'Everyone always leaves me,'_ Squall reminded himself, halting his mad dash across the desert that had appeared out of the darkness. He tightened his grip on Lion Heart. _'My parents, Sis... Everyone at the orphanage left, adopted. Except Seifer, but even he left me.'_ A memory of Seifer turning away, walking toward the possessed Edea without a second thought. _'Everyone leaves. Even Rinoa.'_

His grip slackened and Lion Heart tumbled to the sand. Squall glanced down at his precious blade, the dimmed blue blade mirroring his own sense of loss.

A chill surrounded him and he relaxed into Shiva's embrace as his long-time companion solidified behind him. Shiva had never left him; she'd always been there, his sense of reason when he was lost. He didn't care if her presence in his mind lost him memories of his childhood; without her, he'd have given up long ago.

"Shiva," he whispered, "I don't know what to do. I don't–"

Shiva gently turned him so she could look at him with icy blue eyes. "You wish them to be happy, even without you," she offered, voice as gentle as freshly fallen snow. Even as Squall made the correlation, the desert faded to a snow-covered field, soothing his aching heart at the sight of his favourite element.

"Yes," he whispered, because he _did_ want his friends to be happy. More than that, he wanted...

_~Selphie standing with tears in her eyes over lines of gravestones.... Seifer's broken body shoved aside like rubbish as Adel absorbed Rinoa.... Rinoa's helplessness at knowing she was a sorceress, that she was a danger to everyone.... the list of the dead after Galbadia Garden's attack, the names of people he'd spent years going to class with.... Irvine quietly closing the eyes of one of his friends from Galbadia Garden who lined the halls after the attack...~_

"We are still in Time Compression," Diablos' voice echoed around them as a bat alighted on Squall's shoulder. "Perhaps we can go back to the beginning. Perhaps we can stop Ultimecia before she terrorises everyone."

"You can't change the past," Squall insisted, remembering Ellone's attempts, Ultimecia's hopes to destroy SeeD in the past...

"Ellone didn't know what she was doing," Diablos dismissed. "She was a little girl playing with others for her own ends. Perhaps if she'd _told you_ what she'd wanted, she could have changed things, but she didn't. She remained a silent spectator."

Shiva's chilled hand brushed against his cheek, drawing his attention away from the sneering bat on his shoulder. "You'll never know if you don't try," she pointed out.

Well, that was true. Squall considered those clear blue eyes, taking strength from her cold smile and the heavy pressure of Diablos on his shoulder. "Okay," he decided. "Okay, let's try it."

Shiva's smile widened as she shattered like so many pieces of ice.

"Good, it's cold here," Diablos complained before flying away, back to his dark corner in the back of Squall's mind.

Squall silently considered the icy landscape around him before turning his attention within. He considered his GFs, turned to Doomtrain and asked, _'Perhaps a ride out of here?'_

Doomtrain snorted. _'I don't chug through snow if I can help it,'_ he informed Squall. _'You got through this mess once already to reach your childhood, do whatever you did again.'_

 _'I don't know_ how _,'_ Squall complained.

 _'What was Laguna always telling you?'_ Shiva wondered gently. _'Right, envision where you want to go. You all wanted to go to the orphanage, so that's where you ended up. You want to go to before this all began, so envision your room in Balamb.'_

Squall nodded to himself and focussed his attention on his cadet room. His roommate had managed to switch rooms the month before the SeeD exams and he'd been assigned a new boy, so Squall remembered his dorm as it had been with his previous roommate: rubbish on the couch, half-empty lunch containers all over the desks, gun parts strewn all over the place while his roommate learned every part of his back-up weapon, the staff his roommate always left in the middle of the floor for him to trip over...

The chill vanished and Squall opened his eyes to find that same messy dorm he remembered. It was dark and he tripped over the aforementioned staff on his way to his own room. Silently cursing his ex-roommate's inability to clean up after himself, he caught his balance and slipped through his closed door.

The silent lump on the bed tensed, hearing the door snick closed. Squall's eyes darted to where Revolver sat in its case against the far wall, just out of the younger Squall's reach. There was a knife in the drawer next to the bed and he darted forward, slamming a hand over the drawer just as the younger Squall reached for it.

Their eyes met, both glaring in the dark. There was a long moment, then the younger Squall's eyes widened and he jerked backwards, hissing, "Wha–?"

Squall made an angry gesture with his hand, silencing his younger self. "This is important, and I don't have time to explain," he hissed, not removing his hand from the drawer with the knife. "What's the date?"

"...February nineteenth," younger Squall offered, watching him cautiously.

A little over two months before the SeeD exam. It would have to do. "In two months, everything is going to hell; I want to change things; I want to protect the people I love."

Younger Squall didn't relax, his hand already sneaking towards Revolver's case. "This is a pathetic prank," he informed the older teen.

"It's not a–"

But the younger Squall chose that moment to lunge for his case and the older Squall reached out to stop him. He knocked his knee against the edge of the bed, teetered, and fell onto his younger self. There was a moment of excruciating pain, then there was only one of him, arm still stretching out towards Revolver's case.

Squall blinked around at the room as it darkened even further. "Wha–?"

He blacked out.

-0-

"Oiy! Leonhart!" a voice snapped, drawing Squall back to consciousness. "If you don't get the fuck up, you'll be late! And turn off that damn alarm!"

Squall blinked his eyes open and looked at the bare wall across from him. His head felt like it had been split in half and his stomach was rebelling with nausea. _'What the hell happened?'_ he wondered.

"I swear if you left and forgot to turn off your alarm, I'm going to–" The door snicked open and the irritated voice fell silent. Then, a face blocked Squall's view of his wall, wide brown eyes worried. "Hey, Leonhart? You okay?"

 _'No. I feel like someone took a gunblade to my head, then stopped to kick my stomach for a bit after, just for fun.'_ He tried to turn away from his roommate, but the motion made his ears ring and his stomach jump to his throat. He couldn't help the moan of pain as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Stay right–" the other boy stumbled over his words as he stumbled to his feet. "I'll be– Just stay there, Leonhart!" he ordered, hurrying from the room.

Squall chose not to offer up a response to that, since moving made his head split in half even further; why would he move again?

It seemed like no time at all passed – though it must have been quite a few minutes – when a cool hand touched his forehead and the soothing feeling of a Cure spell washed over him. As the pain in his head faded, he opened his eyes to find Dr Kadowaki kneeling in front of him while Quistis stood behind her and his roommate hovered in the doorway.

"How are you feeling now?" Dr Kadowaki asked, eyes coolly assessing.

Squall took a moment to consider that. His head felt better, but his stomach was still trying to rebel. "Nauseous," he admitted.

Dr Kadowaki nodded and pulled out an orange potion from the bag at her side. "Alright. I'm going to help you sit up and take this," she warned him.

Squall managed the faintest of nods, so the doctor helped him up enough to take the potion, then helped settle him back against the bed once he'd finished it. His stomach was already feeling better and he quietly blessed the woman; she'd patched him together more times than he could count, and she had been essential during the attack on Garden.

_'Attack on Garden? There's never been–'_

Memories flooded back to him, then, of another life, another future, and he moaned, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes.

"Squall?" Quistis called, clearly worried.

The cool hand was back on his forehead and Dr Kadowaki murmured, "He's still got a fever. Quistis, I'm going to prescribe him bed rest. It's probably nothing more than the bug going around right now, so he should be fine in a couple days."

Quistis let out an understanding sound. "Of course. Mr Stromb, let's head to class, then."

Squall's roommate let out a quiet, "Yes, ma'am," and the door closed behind the two of them.

"Squall, do you think you can manage to turn around?" Dr Kadowaki asked kindly. "You'll be more comfortable with your head on the pillows, I think."

Squall blinked at her tiredly from behind his fingers. _'Turn around? Why am I– Oh. Right. I was reaching for Revolver to attack the–'_ He paused, considering his new memories. _'I don't suppose it was another one of Seifer's ideas of a joke, then.'_

"Squall?" Dr Kadowaki tried.

 _'Oh, right. Turning around.'_ Squall shuffled around, glad that his head wasn't splitting in half any more.

Dr Kadowaki sighed and pulled out a new bottle from her bag. "Take this and get some rest," she ordered him. "You'll feel much better if you give your body the time to heal."

Squall obediently took the sleeping potion and rested back, eyes closing as it started to work. He was distantly aware of someone tucking him in, but it didn't seem to matter right that moment.

Memories of death flickered at the edges of his consciousness and he was glad to let them go; he had no interest in watching his classmates die. Not now, not ever.

The other Squall had been right: The future needed to be changed.

-0-

When he woke again, his room was dark and silent. He felt much better, the memories having settled while he slept. Similarly, the para-magic and GFs that had been passed on to him from the other Squall had settled. He could feel the GFs resting quietly in the back of his mind, the other Shiva having merged with his own. Quezacotl had curled up in her own corner, eyeing Doomtrain, Diablos and Tonberry distrustfully. She was wary even of Shiva, who was much stronger now than the lightning elemental.

He gently reached out and soothed Quezacotl, feeling better about his new memories, but still a bit out of place in his own skin. _'They're not going to do anything to you, Quetz,'_ he reassured her. _'They're our friends.'_

 _'They're too strong,'_ Quezacotl complained.

 _'You're too weak,'_ Diablos snapped, shifting threateningly.

 _'That's enough, Diablos,'_ Shiva ordered before turning to Quezacotl. _'Quetz, I haven't changed, and those three are our friends, even if Diablos is a giant prick.'_

Squall snorted. _'That's quite enough out of all of you, I think,'_ he ordered before Shiva and Diablos could get into an argument. It surprised him, sometimes, how well he and Diablos got on, considering how different their personalities were, but after he'd called the GF from his lamp during his first mission, he'd become desperately close to the other, as unwilling to give him up as he was Shiva. Quezacotl had been leant to Zell, since the sprightly youth had bonded with her, and it was only now that he realised how much he'd missed her presence in his mind.

Tonberry chirped to get his attention and he glanced over at the small creature. _'What is it, Tonberry?'_ He paused to consider the mental images his wordless GF sent him and sort the meanings out, then replied, _'Yeah, I know. I'm just not sure how to change things. I mean, there was no way we could have taken down Ultimecia without the others, no matter how strong we were. I can't see a way to fight her without–'_

 _'We have two months,'_ Shiva soothed as Squall's thoughts whirled helplessly. _'We'll figure something out.'_

 _'If nothing else, we're prepared this time,'_ Diablos agreed, flexing his muscles pointedly. _'You're stronger for the magic you've got junctioned, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't train anyway.'_

That was true. His body hadn't been through a war, through months of rigorous training. He would have to train hard to reach the same levels of skill he'd possessed when he met up against Ultimecia the last time, and it wouldn't be easy.

 _'Take on some T-Rexaurs in the Training Centre,'_ Doomtrain suggested. _'I can hit them with sleep, poison, Doom...'_

Doomtrain would make fighting T-Rexaurs distressingly easy, Squall had to admit. Equipping his hard-won auto-haste ability would help, too, giving the large monster little chance to attack at all.

 _'No time like the present,'_ Diablos added.

Squall considered his own body. Having rested, he felt almost one hundred percent again. And, judging by the lack of light through his window, it was late enough that there shouldn't be too many people in the Training Centre, which was good; no one needed to see his new-found abilities quite yet. _'Let's go,'_ he agreed, jumping out of bed and grabbing for his everyday wear.

He had an entire world to save, and only two months to do it in. There was no time for procrastination.

-0-

Classes were mind-numbing once you'd already made SeeD and fought a war. He could have easily been teaching most of his classes, but there was nothing to be done about it. He sat through them, silently considering his options. Meals were eaten while working on homework and evenings were spent training until he was sore all over and stumbling through the halls to his own room.

He didn't have any friends to wonder about his sudden change in study habits, and his roommate already knew better than to ask what he'd been up to – they'd worked that out when the idiot had first moved in with Squall five months ago – so he wasn't worried about anyone noticing his change. Which was all the better, because he had _no_ interest in getting people involved in his plans unless he absolutely _had_ to. He came back to protect his friends from the future, not to get them involved in it again. He would find a way to handle Ultimecia without dragging them into it. Somehow.

His solution quite literally ran into him one afternoon while he was in the library. He'd been looking up things about sorceresses – there was no reason for him to not utilise the resources at his disposal to try and find another way – when someone backed right into him. He spun to glare at the other person, only to find Ellone, who was watching some cadets warily.

Squall considered the confrontation for a breath, then carefully moved in front of his adopted sister, eyes hard as he looked over the other cadets. "Can I help you?" he wondered in an icy voice.

One of the boys moved as if to grab a weapon, but Squall snapped out a Stop and he froze.

The other boys immediately held their hands up in surrender. "Sorry to bother you, Leonhart," one of them offered. "We'll just be going..."

Squall tossed a Dispel at the boy he'd stopped, then watched the group of them flee with sharp eyes. Once they were gone, he turned to Ellone and raised an eyebrow. "Where's your protection detail?" he wondered, having vague memories of a White SeeD following her around in the past.

Ellone blinked in surprise, then flushed. "Oh, uhm..."

Squall sighed. "Sis, you can't just–" He paused at the strange look in her eyes. "Sis?"

"You... remember me?" Ellone asked, watching him curiously.

Squall almost smacked himself for his mistake – he'd run into Ellone before, but never recognised her – but decided to ignore that and continued, "You can't just lose the SeeD assigned to you when you're tired of them. They're there for your protection."

Ellone winced. "I know that, Squall. But–"

"But nothing," Squall snapped. "What would have happened if I hadn't been here. You could have been _hurt_!"

Ellone considered that, still looking a bit shame-faced, but then her eyes lit up and she reached out to entwine her arm with Squall's. "You'll have to protect me, then."

Squall blinked at that, a thought coming to him, _'Protect her? It's not all that safe here, especially not with Ultimecia's rise coming, but Esthar was safe. And they fought Adel. And Laguna...'_

Laguna would believe anything, even a story about Squall coming back to change the future.

 _'I can't do this alone,'_ he admitted to himself, _'and I don't want to get the others involved, but Laguna has the entire Esthar army at his beck and call. Not to mention all that technology, and if I could get my hands on Ragnarok...'_

"Squall?" Ellone interrupted, smiling. "Lost in thought?"

"Let's go on a trip," Squall decided, shoving the book he'd been holding back onto the shelf.

"A trip? Where?" Ellone wondered, walking complacently beside him as they started out of the library.

"It's a surprise," Squall informed her. Then, after a moment's thought, "Sis, do you trust me?"

Ellone blinked at that. "Do I...? Of _course_ I trust you, Squall!"

"Good." Squall nodded and led her towards the carpool, glowering at anyone who looked at them funny. Admittedly, Squall Leonhart with a girl hanging off his arm was quite the sight, but there was no reason for any of them to _stare_ at him because of it.

Once there, he checked out a car and walked over to it.

"We're going into town?" Ellone wondered, eyes bright. "I haven't been out of Garden in _months_!"

Squall offered her the smallest of smiles, understanding well the feeling of being trapped in Garden – he'd been made Commander, after all, for all that he often left Garden with the others, they'd still needed him up in that office more often than he would have liked. "This should be a proper treat, then," he offered as they slid inside. "If your SeeD protection detail tries to kill me afterwards, though, I'll claim I was kidnapped."

Ellone laughed at that, bright and happy. She waited until they could see Balamb in the distance before saying, "I've missed having you around, Squall."

Squall swallowed against the lump in his throat. "I–" His pride choked his words, but he managed to fight it off long enough to admit, "I missed you too, Sis. I... cried. A lot."

Ellone looked away, ashamed, and whispered, "I'm sorry, Squall. I _had_ to leave, though."

Squall shrugged. "You never even said goodbye." And, really, that's what had bothered him the most. She'd vanished without a word, no guarantee that she'd ever return, that she'd even _cared_ to begin with.

Ellone sucked in her bottom lip and chewed on it, looking lost. As they pulled into the town, she admitted, "You were sleeping. I didn't... I didn't want to wake you. I thought you'd be okay."

"I survived," Squall informed her, a bite to his voice that he hadn't intended, and Ellone flinched at it. He considered apologising, but decided not to in the end – she sort of deserved it – and pulled into the lot next to the train station. "Come on."

"The train station?" Ellone wondered, getting out of the car with a curious expression.

Squall glanced at her, shrugging. "You said you wanted out of Garden, right? Why not a trip? A _proper_ trip, not just to Balamb."

Ellone shot him a faint frown. "I don't know, Squall. Like you pointed out, the SeeD will be worried."

Squall shook his head. "I won't let anything happen to you," he promised, "and we'll be back by Monday." A lie, but once they got to Esthar, he doubted Ellone would care. If it came down to it, he supposed he could just knock her out and carry her there, but getting her to come on her own would be better. For both of them.

Ellone glanced up at the train station, chewing on her lower lip again, and Squall silently waited for her to make up her mind, readying a Sleep spell.

Finally, Ellone nodded. "Okay. But once we get to Timber, I should call Garden and let them know I haven't been kidnapped." When he glanced at the phones standing outside the train station, she smiled and offered, "If I called them from here, we'd never get out of Balamb. And..." She shrugged, looking away. "I _would_ like to get out of Balamb for a bit. Travelling with my little brother..." She smiled up at him, eyes bright.

Squall swallowed against the knot in his throat and managed a crooked smile in response. "Okay, then. Come on."

Ellone took his arm again and they moved swiftly up to the ticket window and bought two tickets to Timber.

In their seats on the train – Squall _really_ missed the SeeD compartment – Ellone pleaded, "Are you _sure_ you won't tell me where we're headed? Timber's not much better than Balamb, really, so it can't be _there_. Right?"

"It's not Timber," Squall replied. When Ellone smiled hopefully, he snorted. "It's a surprise, Sis."

Ellone sighed and slouched in her seat. "Remind me to pick up something to read in Timber," she muttered.

Squall nodded absently. He would need to ask around about ways to get across Horizon Bridge, especially with someone who wasn't used to walking long distances. Timber wasn't really a coastal town, but maybe they'd have access to boats that could be used to get to Fisherman's Horizon. There wasn't land-fall on the eastern continent, he knew, but FH had a port they could dock at. Cutting the distance in half would help a lot.

 _'I'll worry about it when we get there,'_ Squall decided, relaxing back in his seat. _'I suppose I could have looked into borrowing a boat in Balamb, but that was still a bit too close to home, and I'm sure where the White SeeD ship is. They seemed to dock in Centra a lot, but with Sis at Balamb and Matron soon to be possessed and wandering around near Deling City... I didn't want to take the chance that we'd run into them out on the ocean. At least travelling along Horizon Bridge means I can weave the boat out of range, assuming I can find a good-sized ship._

 _'Nothing to do about it now, Squall,'_ he reminded himself. _'When we get to Timber, I'll ask around about boats while Sis calls Garden. We can pick up some provisions with something to read, then head out.'_

-0-

Timber did not, in fact, have boat access, but there was a small coastal town to the north of them that the train station manager had pointed him to, so once they were fully stocked with provisions, Squall rented a car and they made their way there.

"So where _are_ we going?" Ellone wondered. "I expected you to catch another train from Timber."

"No trains where we're going," Squall allowed, glancing briefly down at the map he'd been given to check that he was still going in the right direction. He _hated_ driving without a road, but he was better than Zell, who, according to Selphie, almost got them lost en route to the Missile Base. Quistis had been required to take the map and give directions to Selphie, lest they miss their chance entirely.

"There aren't a lot of places that can't be reached by train," Ellone commented carefully.

"Lots of small towns," Squall agreed, eyes darting over to her and back to the uneven ground ahead of them. The small village was just coming into view, Horizon Bridge stretching past it and far into the distance.

Ellone eyed the bridge for a long moment. As they pulled into the village, she offered, "You can't land a boat in Esthar."

"You can dock in FH," Squall replied, seeing no reason to deny where they were headed when she'd already caught on. "We'll walk the other half of Horizon Bridge."

Ellone nodded. "And if I don't want to come?"

Squall pulled the break and raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't want to see Laguna?"

Ellone's expression lit up. "We're going to see Uncle Laguna?"

Squall leaned into the back seat to grab the sack of provisions. "Coming?" he asked before getting out of the car.

Ellone was much more cheerful once Laguna had been mentioned. She offered to use her own Garden account to pay for the boat, especially since Squall's funds were running low, but he waved her off, commenting, "If they find out where we are, they'll stop us."

"Oh. Right." Ellone had frowned a bit at that, but Squall was able to get them a boat for an acceptable price and they both hopped in. "You know how to drive one of these?" Ellone wondered as Squall set about looking over the controls.

"In theory," he admitted. "This is an older model than I'm used to, but we're trained how to drive all sorts of vehicles, boats included."

Ellone sighed a bit and reached a hand down to flick at the water. "I almost wish I'd tried for SeeD."

"No, you don't," Squall shot back, voice harsh with memories of war. "You're better off as a civilian, Sis." Then he turned the key he'd been given and flipped the choke, sending them quickly away from the dock and towards the large bridge rising over them.

Ellone eventually came to join him at the controls, leaning forward and enjoying the breeze. "Will it be hard to get into Esthar?" she wondered.

Squall shrugged. "We should be fine. I'm a little concerned about the Abadon in the Great Salt Lake, but we'll manage."

Ellone shot him a worried look. "An Abadon? Are you sure it'll be okay?"

Squall pulled out a handful of Phoenix Downs and showed them to her in response, earning a quiet giggle. "We'll be fine," he promised, shoving the healing items back in his pocket. "Maybe I'll let you be the one to toss it."

Ellone laughed and shook her head. "Maybe not." She fell silent again, smiling, and watched the passing bridge. After a good twenty minutes, she asked, "How long until we get there?"

Squall considered the sun in the distance, then the beeping radar on the console. "I'll try and get us in tonight. We can sleep over in FH and start for Esthar in the morning."

Ellone nodded, chewing on her lip.

Squall glanced over at her. "What is it?"

"We're not going to make it back by Monday, are we?"

Squall looked away. "No."

Ellone sighed, nodded again, then headed back to her magazine.

-0-

They pulled into the FH docks a few hours after the sun had set. Squall was glad for the lights that had been installed on the boat, because he'd almost run into the dock twice. Once they were securely moored, he walked back to where Ellone was dozing. "Sis, we're here."

"Hm?" Ellone blinked up at him, then glanced around at the dark docks. "Oh, right. Help me up?"

They gathered their things and Squall helped her out of the boat and to the inn that stood just over the tracks.

Inside, they were greeted by the owner, "Evenin', folks," he offered with a bright smile on his face. The smile dimmed when he saw Squall's gunblade and he opened his mouth to comment on it, but Squall held up his hand.

"I know about your laws against violence," the SeeD cadet offered, "and I have no intention in drawing my weapon in FH. Could we get a couple rooms for the night?"

The man blinked, then nodded. "Yeah, sure. Uhm, let me get you keys..." He shuffled back towards the counter.

"Two rooms?" Ellone wondered quietly.

"They're pacifists," Squall returned equally quietly. "You should be fine on your own for one night, unless you'd prefer to share a room." Squall shrugged. "I don't care either way."

Ellone nodded and accepted her room key when the owner handed it out to her, asking, "What brings you folks to FH?"

"We're travelling to Esthar," Ellone replied, smiling. "My uncle's there, and Squall offered to take me." She looked fondly up at Squall. "Even if he _was_ being obnoxiously secretive about it."

Squall rolled his eyes. "Come on, Sis. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Good night!" Ellone offered to the owner as Squall ushered her up to their rooms.

The owner laughed and waved her off. "Sleep well, then."

Once in his own room, Squall laid out all his supplies and checked everything against the mental list in his head. It had taken them four days to get to Esthar last time, but that was with Rinoa and Matron. Ellone would probably need occasional breaks like Matron had, but her deadweight wouldn't be slowing him down, so it should go a bit faster. Also, he could always carry her if it came to that.

Prepared for the worst, he had supplies for five days, as well as sleeping bags and a tarp for a shelter. He knew there were a few dead train cars along the tracks that could be slept in – they'd done so the last time – but if they got caught out in the middle of the Great Salt Lake, he wanted to have something for Ellone to sleep under. He didn't care either way, but she probably would.

 _'I don't know why they wouldn't have taught her at least_ something _about taking care of herself,'_ Diablos commented in the back of his head. _'She's pretty much useless right now. Are you_ sure _we need her?'_

"Diablos, if you don't shut up, I'm un-junctioning you," Squall warned out loud as he carefully replaced everything in the small, magically expanded sack. He checked through his medicine inventory next, mentally noting that he'd need to stock up on Hi-Potions before setting out in the morning.

With that figured out – and Diablos wisely silent – Squall shed his clothing and slipped into bed, resting Revolver within easy reach. He trusted that nothing bad would occur inside the FH city limits, but he saw no reason to _not_ be prepared. (Not that he would be disarmed without his gunblade – he had some of the strongest para-magic in the world junctioned and had no compunctions against unleashing it on anyone foolish enough to think him defenceless – but having his preferred weapon in easy reach helped him relax.)

His only true sorrow about leaving Garden without any forethought was that he had left without his gunblade case. He could get a new one in Esthar, easy, but he still missed the dark case with Griever's face glaring out from the front.

-0-

Squall was alert suddenly, not certain what had woken him. It took him a second to sense the other person moving around in his room. He was just preparing a Stop to hit whatever poor bastard thought to sneak in on him when a weary voice said, "I'm not here to attack you, just sleep."

Squall sat up at that and snapped the light next to his bed on, staring at Seifer, who had fallen into the other bed in the room. "What the _fuck_ are you doing here?" he snapped.

Seifer sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "I'm following you."

"Why the fuck are you–?"

"Because you've been acting strange!" Seifer hissed back, eyes narrowed. "A week and a half ago, you stopped letting me bait you into a fight and started taking on T-Rexaurs instead!"

Squall paused at that, surprised. He honestly hadn't thought anyone had noticed his change in behaviour. "So, what? You decided the only way to find out was follow me on a road trip to FH?" He snorted. "Try again, Seifer."

"You're going to Esthar," Seifer informed him. When Squall narrowed his eyes in response, the older gunblader added, "The owner asked when I mentioned we were friends."

"We're not _friends_ ," Squall spat, mentally cursing Ellone's earlier comment to the owner.

"Well, I don't think the residents of Fisherman's Horizon understand the concept of 'rivals'," Seifer snapped back.

Squall clenched his jaw. Seifer had a point about using the term 'rivals' in FH, but still, he didn't want the other gunblader coming with them. "You know where I'm headed, so why don't you just go back?" he bit out. "If you're not back for class on Monday, they might very well kick you out of the SeeD program." Which was true, since Seifer had already failed the exam twice, and he was no one's favourite person.

Seifer considered him as he pulled off his boots. "And when are _you_ going back?" he wondered. "Not by Monday, not if you're headed to Esthar."

Squall looked away, because he had no intention of returning to Garden. He'd done the whole SeeD thing – become the Commander, even – and it hadn't impressed him enough for him to need to go back. Perhaps, once the world was safe, he'd look into it again, but he had more important things to do right now.

Seifer snorted and stood to unlatch the strap holding Hyperion in place. "That's what I thought." He set the gunblade carefully to one side, commenting, "It's not worth it without you around, you idiot. Who else am I supposed to train with? Chicken-wuss?"

Squall rolled his eyes. "Suddenly you don't care about making SeeD?" he wondered. He knew becoming a Sorceress' Knight had been Seifer's big dream, but wasn't SeeD second best?

Seifer snorted again and reached over to snap the light off. "Don't be an idiot, Squall. We both know I'll never make SeeD."

Squall sat there, listening to Seifer climb into bed, heart sinking. _'Was that why you joined Ultimecia?'_ he wondered. _'Because you knew they'd never make you a SeeD? Then why did you stay? Why remain at Garden if you knew...?'_ Squall closed his eyes and rested back against his pillow. _'Seifer, I don't understand.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Ellone's timeline isn't really canon, but it worked out better that way. Bah, it's fanfiction. Who cares if it's canon or not? XD
> 
> I know, I know, Squall should probably be a bit more broken up about never seeing Rinoa and them again but, honestly? I thought that whole relationship was OoC. I mean, Squall has abandonment issues, yeah? So why in Merlin's name would he take Rinoa getting knocked out well? That's just _proof_ that everyone's going to abandon him, whether by choice or not. Honestly, he shouldn't have opened up to her at _all_. And he shouldn't have let the others talk him into putting Rinoa's life above the members of the Garden during the fight with G-Garden – he's the bloody _Commander_ , dammit, not Rinoa's personal body guard! Rawr.  
> Yeah, whatever. I'll stop ranting now. Anyone who's reading this fic probably agrees with me, anyway. Bah.
> 
> The calendar for this fic gave me _so many_ fits. I started writing it with a mind towards western schooling – end of the school year falls in early summer and starts back up again at the beginning of autumn – but then, while writing chapter four or so, I realised that the Garden calendar of events in the game follows the Japanese school system, with the end and beginning of the year falling during spring. ARGH! So I had to re-work the calendar.  
>  It's still not particularly canon – the school year should end during the latter half of March and start back up again mid-April – but it's better than it was. Currently, the SeeD exam is falling in late June, which is still _way_ too late, but... Bah.  
>  There's only one point where a date is mentioned, and that's in this chapter, so it doesn't matter all that much. But _still_.


	2. Give Up Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaim Her:** ♪♪ We're off to see the President, the wonderful President Loire. ♪♪  
>  Is that mixing too many fandoms?
> 
>  **A/N:** I was originally going to write this whole fic from Squall's view, but then I started writing Seifer during this chapter and I'm having a hard time getting back into Squall's head. I mean, he's an okay narrator, but I think I prefer Seifer.  
>  So, there are a couple scenes from Squall's point of view, but it's looking like most of this fic is going to be in Seifer's. Or trade back and forth between them. Just a heads up.
> 
> This chapter's a bit longer than the norm that I had intended to set for this fic, I think, but that's because I wanted to get Squall's big reveal out of the way this chapter, no matter how off track everyone else got. So, erm, you're welcome?

Squall was the first one up the next morning. He dressed swiftly, then wandered downstairs to ask after the Hi-Potions he needed, as well as a good place to get some breakfast. He was directed to the café around the corner, so he wandered over and picked up some breakfast for all three of them – there was no point in scorning Seifer by making him get his own, especially when Squall wanted to get under way quickly – before returning to the inn.

He walked back into his room first and and kicked Seifer's bed. "Up. If you're coming, you're getting up," he ordered, setting the food on the small table.

Seifer groaned. "What time is it?"

"Seven." Squall grabbed a roll and took a bite. "Are you awake?"

"Yes." Seifer shot him a dirty look. "Is your girlfriend up, yet?"

"I don't have a girlfriend," Squall replied matter-of-factly before turning and leaving the room to wake Ellone. At her door, he knocked and called, "Sis? You up?"

There was a mumbled response.

"Don't make me come in there," Squall added.

"I'm up," Ellone said more distinctly.

Squall nodded. "I bought breakfast. Also, Seifer followed us. He intends to come with to Esthar." Then he turned and walked back into his own room.

Seifer was pulling on his blue vest as Squall walked back in. Curious, he asked, "You have a sister?"

"My mother adopted her during the Sorceress War," Squall allowed drily. "Her name's Ellone. You've met before."

Seifer blinked. "We have?"

Ellone chose that moment to enter, eyes lighting up upon seeing Seifer. "Seifer!"

Seifer turned to Squall, eyebrow raised.

Squall motioned to the container of rolls for Ellone, then offered, "Sis, you and I were all at the same orphanage."

Seifer blinked again, then asked, "With Matron?"

"Mm-hm."

Ellone smiled at him again and held out her hand. "Ellone Loire," she offered.

Seifer smiled a bit uncertainly. "Seifer Almasy," he replied, shaking the offered hand. As the young woman collected herself a roll and sat next to Squall on his bed, Seifer studied her, then asked, "You're Squall's... adopted sister?"

"Yes." Ellone smiled for a moment, then blinked and turned to Squall. "How did you know that, anyway?"

"I read minds in my free time," Squall deadpanned, making Ellone giggle. He held out the last two rolls to Seifer, who was staring at him like he'd grown a second head. "Are you going to eat?"

"You just made a joke," Seifer pointed out.

Squall raised an eyebrow. "I am perfectly capable of both making and enjoying jokes, Seifer. Are you going to eat these?"

Seifer took the container before Squall could take it back and eat it himself. "I've never heard you make a joke before," he admitted.

"I've never seen a reason to." Squall stood and stretched a bit. "I don't suppose you have food for the journey?"

"Erm, no." Seifer shrugged. "I was more concerned with catching up with you than getting supplies."

Squall held his hand out for Seifer's bag, which the blond handed over with only a slight hesitation. Squall shifted through his rival's meagre supplies and sighed. "I'll go see what I can find for food and a sleeping bag. The inn's owner sells Potions downstairs, so stock up." He paused for a moment, silently asking, _'Tonberry? Could you make me one of your cards for Seifer?'_

Tonberry chirped agreeably and, with a flash of light, a small card appeared in Squall's hand, which he held out to a wide-eyed Seifer. "It's a discount card, of sorts," he explained. "Any shop will accept it if you show it to them right away."

"How did you...?" Seifer asked, taking the card to examine it.

"Tonberry," Squall replied before turning and leaving the room. He briefly poked his head back in the door to add, "Seifer, keep an eye on Ellone or I'll use Revolver to remove your balls," then vanished again.

Ellone giggled while Seifer sighed and stuffed the last of his second roll into his mouth. "Right," he said around the roll, standing, "Let me get my coat and Hyperion and we can go down."

Normally, Seifer hated being threatened, especially by Squall, but he still wasn't sure what to think of this new Squall; this boy who wore Squall's skin and wielded his gunblade, but had a subtle darkness to him that Seifer had only seen on some of the best SeeDs. Moreover, he'd heard more words from Squall in the past twelve hours than he had in the past five years, and he wasn't sure if that was because of whatever changed him, or because of Ellone.

Speaking of Ellone, the petite young woman smiled at him as they made their way downstairs. She looked far too dainty to be of any use in battle, which made Seifer wonder what possessed Squall to try travelling with her all the way to Esthar _by himself_. Sure, Seifer had watched the younger teen take down more than one T-Rexaur with that new GF he'd mysteriously gained, but one GF couldn't very well protect him _and_ a civilian during a trip to the most inclusive nation in the world. Even Trabia, with their cities hidden in the mountains, was more welcoming to visitors than Esthar.

"What can I do for you, son?" the owner asked after greeting the smiling Ellone.

Seifer flipped the card in his hand thoughtfully, then held it out. "I was hoping for some Potions?"

The owner happily pulled out his offerings and explained the changed prices. Seifer, who had never seen the point in dropping five hundred gil for a Hi-Potion when a simple Potion or Cure was fine in Balamb, suddenly found himself more than willing to stock up on Hi-Potions, especially at only three hundred seventy-five gil a piece. When Ellone mentioned that Squall had said something about an Abadon, he paid for a handful of Remedies as well.

They found Squall after a few more minutes and started off down the train tracks together, Squall commenting, "There shouldn't be any monsters on the tracks, but keep your eyes opened anyway. No sense in getting half-way to Esthar and getting knocked off by an over-happy Mesmerize."

"About how long should it take us to get the Esthar?" Seifer wondered, checking to ensure he could draw Hyperion without it getting stuck.

Squall glanced at Ellone, who had hurried ahead a few steps and was watching some birds overhead. "Depending on Sis, somewhere between three and four days, I think. We could probably make it in two, but she's going to need breaks. We've got supplies for five days, so we should manage fine."

Seifer nodded. "How, exactly, were you planning to make this trip with just yourself and a civilian?" he wondered. Squall was in a surprisingly talkative mood, so he figured he might as well dig for a couple answers.

Squall shrugged. "I didn't think that far ahead."

"You didn't–" Seifer looked at him disbelievingly. "Squall 'Ice Queen' Leonhart, the person _least_ likely to run head-first into something without pausing to think first–"

"Thank you, Seifer," Squall cut in drily. "I'm aware of how out of character this is for me, but I had my reasons."

"This should be good."

Squall shot him a cold look. "Not reasons I'm sharing with you."

"Oh, come on, Squall. I wasted an entire _day_ following you. You could at least–"

"I never asked you to follow me, Almasy," Squall snapped before speeding up just enough to catch up with Ellone, who smiled up at him.

Seifer let out a surprised breath. For all the years they'd known each other – all the arguments, insults and duels – Squall had _never_ referred to him by his last name. Since before Seifer could remember, they'd been on a first name basis. Fujin and Raijin had commented on it more than once, and it had gone around the grapevine fairly regularly that the two rivals were having a secret affair on the side and only fought to keep up appearances.

"Squall," Seifer whispered at the stiff back far ahead of him, "what happened to you?"

-0-

Ellone lasted four hours before requesting a break, much to Seifer's surprise. She must have read the surprise on his face, for she offered, "I may be a civilian, but I've lived with SeeD for most of my life. You learn to keep up or they pick you up and carry you." She turned to Squall. "I've no doubt you considered doing the same thing more than once."

"Picking you up and carrying you to Esthar?" Squall wondered, something gleaming in his eyes. "No, you'd probably break my back."

"Are you calling me _heavy_ , Squall?!" Ellone demanded, but she was smiling.

"I would _never_ say something so uncouth about my favourite sister," Squall assured her.

"Two jokes in one day?" Seifer wondered. "Is this the coming of the apocalypse?"

"Shut up, Seifer," Squall ordered, handing over a sandwich from his sack. Ellone had already been given one and a third was pulled out for Squall himself.

Seifer was unspeakably glad to hear his first name from Squall's lips and showed it by taking a bite of his sandwich instead of starting an argument.

After they'd finished their sandwiches and Squall had unburied a few bottles of water, the youngest teen stepped to the entrance of the abandoned car they'd slipped into and considered the inferior mirages along the tracks. "We're probably best off resting in here for an hour, so there's time for the tracks to cool a bit," he decided

Since Seifer had no interest in travelling during the heat of that day, he relaxed back against the shredded seat he'd claimed and wondered, "You mentioned a Tonberry earlier?"

Squall glanced back at him, blinking. "Hm? Oh, yeah, he's a GF. I don't know where he gets those discount cards from, but they're pretty useful."

Seifer nodded, then commented, "It's not a GF from Garden."

Squall's eyes gleamed knowingly. "I picked him up during the summer."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "And that train you always use in the Training Centre?"

"Of course," Squall agreed, an almost-smile twisting the corners of his mouth.

Ellone watched their little game with worried eyes. She had no interest in watching them get into a fight, so she cut in with, "Squall? How did you hear about Laguna?"

Squall glanced at her, expression gentling. "I met him once, briefly. I doubt he remembers me, but I remember him."

"You met him?" Ellone wondered, leaning forward hopefully. "How was he doing?"

"He's President," Squall offered, "so quite well. The city adores him after his defeat of Adel. He's something of a local hero."

Ellone nodded, her expression falling. "Is he happy?"

Squall paused for a moment, thinking about that before very carefully saying, "I didn't see enough of him to be certain. You'll have to ask him yourself."

Ellone nodded again, then pulled out a magazine to read. Since Squall seemed content to keep watch, Seifer slouched in his seat and closed his eyes. He was tired and this was as good a place to nap as any other.

-0-

The next two and a half days were spent travelling along the tracks. Nights were spent in train cars, as were their afternoon breaks, while breakfast and supper were both eaten on foot – Ellone had proved resilient enough to manage that without complaint. Seifer would have liked some conversation, but Squall had no interest in talking and Ellone only wanted to play travelling games. (By the second afternoon, Seifer was plenty willing to play with her, if only to break the silence, no matter how childish it seemed.)

They reached the end of the tracks at about the time they would normally stop for lunch and Squall ushered them into the abandoned station office to eat and take their break. Once the food was gone, they took their usual positions: Squall near the exit, Ellone with a magazine open in front of her and Seifer taking a nap or, as was the case that afternoon, pulling out his gunblade to clean it.

"We should get into Esthar in time for dinner," Squall announced after a good ten minutes of silence.

Ellone glanced up from her magazine and out the nearest window toward the missing city. "Maybe I'm remembering wrong," she commented, "but I was pretty certain you could see the city from this side of the lake."

Squall cocked his head to one side. "It's there," he assured her, "it's just hidden behind the OCS."

"OCS?" Seifer asked, looking up from his gunblade curiously.

Squall nodded. "Optical Camouflage System. It's a series of panels built one on top of another and linked by a computer to show a specific image. They use it to hide their city."

Seifer blinked a few times. "The things you know..."

Squall raised an eyebrow at him. "I've been here before."

"Let me guess, over the summer?" Seifer suggested. He still had trouble wrapping his mind around that one, since he was _pretty sure_ Squall had remained at Garden all of last summer. Never mind that if Squall had done all this six months ago, why the sudden change.

Squall's smirk was answer enough.

"Right." Seifer shook his head. "So, how do we get in if everything's camouflaged?"

"There's a ladder on the wall somewhere in the middle of the lake," Squall reported, glancing back out the door towards the Great Salt Lake. "It shouldn't be too hard to find."

Ellone jumped to her feet, something a bit wild in her eyes. "Okay! Let's go, then!"

Squall looked over at her with both eyebrows raised. "We have twenty-three minutes before our rest period is over." His expression softened a bit when Ellone dropped back into her chair, looking upset. "Sis, I know you want to see Laguna, but you'll have to be patient. He'll still be there, whether we leave right this minute or twenty minutes from now."

Ellone glanced back towards where she knew they city lay, then over at Squall. "There's..." She turned her attention to her hands while both SeeD cadets looked at her curiously. "You know Raine's your mom, right?"

"Yes," Squall agreed, tilting his head to the side.

"And you... Do you know who your dad is?"

Squall's eyes flickered towards the unseen city. "I have my suspicions."

Ellone looked down, eyes brimming with shame. "It's Laguna," she admitted quietly.

"Hm." Squall glanced back out the door, unsurprised.

Seifer sighed. "Elle, what's wrong?" he asked because he knew Squall wouldn't.

Ellone glanced up at him, then over at Squall's silent form. "I'm... sorry. For not telling you," she offered. "I knew he was alive, and I–"

"The past is past," Squall interrupted, turning to her with sharp eyes. "There's no point thinking about 'should have's." His eyes softened and he sighed at her wide-eyed look. "Sis, I _love_ Garden. I wouldn't want to change my life there for anything. Not even a father." He turned back to the view of the Great Salt Lake. "Anyway, I've had my suspicions that he was my father for long enough, I could have looked into it more, but I didn't care."

Ellone sighed. "Still..."

Squall straightened. "Come on."

Ellone and Seifer put their things away and joined Squall outside.

At the edge of the tracks, the two gunbladers pulled out their weapons. Without having to speak, Squall took point while Seifer fell back to keep an eye out behind them, refusing to leave Ellone unprotected as they started down into the Great Salt Lake.

For the most part, the journey was easy-going. Squall was much stronger than Seifer remembered and he easily destroyed the Vysages and their partners, the Lefties and Righties. Seifer, himself, had little trouble with the blighters, so they were easily able to protect Ellone without having to worry about rushing to one another's aide and leaving their back open.

The only time Seifer was at all concerned about Squall was when they came across the Abadon. Seifer had been busy with a particularly resilient Vysage when the large undead rose up in front of Squall. Seifer was just about to leave the Vysage to assist Squall when the younger teen oh-so-calmly tossed a Phoenix Down at the monster, killing it instantly.

Ellone had smiled and turned to look towards Seifer, only for her eyes to widen in horror at the Vysage he'd forgotten about. "Seifer!"

Before Seifer could even turn around, Squall had snapped his hand out and a Holy spell obliterated the Vysage. "You idiot," Squall commented, something in his voice that Seifer couldn't decipher.

Seifer cleared his throat. "Thanks."

Squall gave a jerky nod in answer, then hurried over to the wall – which they could almost make out – and pressed a button which caused a door to open well above them. He moved quickly up the ladder , then reached down to help Ellone up. Once Seifer had joined them, Squall pressed another button and the door vanished.

They were all quiet as they stepped cautiously through the small facility, Ellone and Seifer because they were in awe of the technology, Squall because he was wrapped in his own memories of his first trip through the city's defences. The only sound for the entirety of the trip was Seifer's awed gasp as they soared through Esthar on the moving platform. Ellone shot him an amused smile, remembering her own awe on first seeing the city; Squall glanced back towards him for a moment, taking in the awed expression, then turned back to watch the city sweep by.

As they stepped off the platform into the collection area, Squall quietly said, "I'll handle the welcoming committee."

"You're willing to speak so much in one day? To people you don't even know?" Seifer asked with a mock gasp.

"Revolver, Seifer's balls," Squall replied drily, reaching for his gunblade. "Seifer's balls–"

"Truce!" Seifer called, holding one hand up in surrender while the other covered his crotch.

Squall removed his hand from the handle. "I promise I'll be gentle," he commented in that same dry tone.

Ellone giggled at them, shaking her head. Squall had taken to threatening Seifer whenever the older teen irritated him on their journey, and even though all of them knew Squall wouldn't _actually_ take Revolver to Seifer's privates...

"I can't tell if you're joking with that tone," Seifer complained.

Any further teasing was put on hold as the hover car from the presidential palace pulled through the tunnel and came to a stop in front of them.

Squall stepped forward to meet the man who folded out of the car, offering, "I'm Squall Leonhart, and that's Seifer Almasy. We're here to escort Miss Ellone Loire to visit with her uncle, President Laguna Loire. I'm afraid we didn't warn him that we would be coming, and I apologise for the surprise."

The man looked them over, then nodded. "Of course. Please get in. I'll radio ahead to let President Loire know his niece is here on the way. He should meet us in the entrance hall."

"Thank you," Squall replied, motioning for Ellone to go ahead as the Estharian got back into the car.

Squall and Seifer followed them, Seifer murmuring, "I never knew you had it in you, Squall. Our diplomacy instructor would have cried for joy if he'd been here."

Squall snorted. He'd hated their diplomacy instructor, and everyone had known it. Mostly because the old bastard had insisted that everyone practise being diplomatic at least once during a class, which required Squall to _talk_. Squall didn't talk, especially not in front of a class. He also didn't do polite, preferring to solve things with his gunblade at that age. But age, a war and the responsibility to Balamb Garden had taught him the importance of diplomacy, especially when you needed allies more than enemies. He still didn't care for all the polite bowing and scraping necessary for a diplomat – it had a habit of bruising his fighter's pride – but he could do it when required. (Even better, he knew he could manage it better than Seifer, having come out above Seifer in their diplomacy class even _with_ his hatred of speaking in front of an audience.)

Ellone sat across from them, twisting the worn edges of her dress. "Oh, I hope he doesn't mind the visit," she murmured.

Squall resisted the urge to snort again; Laguna, miss the chance to reunite with his darling Ellone? Not likely. Knowing Laguna, the man would drop everything to see Ellone, no matter how important it was.

Indeed, Laguna hadn't even bothered to wait in the entrance hall; he was right there at the entrance to the palace, guards shifting nervously on either side of him. When the door of the car opened and Ellone was half-shoved out the door by a quietly amused Squall, Laguna dashed forward to pull his 'niece' into a hug.

"Elle!" Laguna whispered into her hair before pulling back to get a look at here. "Look at you, all grown up! You're absolutely lovely!"

Ellone beamed at him. "It's good to see you too, Uncle Laguna."

Laguna beamed right back, then got distracted as a couple of guards came forward to keep Seifer and Squall from approaching, leery of their obvious weapons.

Seifer crossed his arms over his chest, unimpressed by the Esthar guards. "If we wanted your president dead, he'd already _be_ dead."

"I don't think Esthar is big enough for your ego, Seifer," Squall offered drily before glancing over at Ellone and Laguna. "If you could, President Loire, our only intentions are to see to Ellone's safety. If it would make your guards feel better, we're willing to check our gunblades."

"We are _no_ –" Seifer shut up when Squall shot him a murderous look.

Laguna laughed a bit nervously, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck, and glanced down at Ellone. "Well?"

Ellone sighed. "They're not going to get violent unless someone else starts something."

Laguna nodded. "Let them keep their weapons." His eyes narrowed when he spotted what were probably a couple hidden knives on each boy's lower legs, and he didn't doubt they were both carrying more that he couldn't spot. "I trust Elle's judgement."

The teens relaxed marginally as the guards backed off. When Ellone smiled hopefully, Squall stepped forward, hand outstretched for his father to take. "I'm Squall Leonhart, and this is Seifer Almasy. We're both from Balamb Garden."

The guards all tensed again, obviously knowing what Garden was, but Laguna's mind had blanked at the teen's last name. "Leon...hart?" he wondered, looking the teen over a second time. He saw it that time: the brown hair and stormy eyes that were so much like Raine's.

Squall raised an eyebrow, silently amused. He hadn't been there to see the first time Laguna found out about him, since Ellone had told him while they were elsewhere, and he was glad he could watch it this time. Laguna's face was like an open book as he put the pieces together.

"Raine had a son?!" Laguna finally sputtered.

"Please tell me you're enjoying this as much as I am," Seifer murmured in Squall's ear as they watched Laguna freak out a little bit. Nearby, Ellone was watching everything with a helpless smile.

"Definitely," Squall murmured back to his fellow cadet.

Ellone finally took pity on her 'uncle', calling, "Uncle Laguna! Calm down!"

Laguna finally managed to calm down enough to remember that they were out in the middle of the street, confused guards all around them. Laguna cleared his throat, glancing up at the emotionless teen with Raine's eyes and said, "Let's, uhm... We should take this...inside..."

One of the guards stepped forward. "Sir, please, they said they're from Garden. We can't let them walk around with weap–"

"We're from Garden," Seifer informed the sweating guard, "which means we're armed, whether you take our gunblades or not. So, really, here." He unhooked Hyperion, sheath and all, and held it out with a feral smile.

"Seifer, stop taunting the guards," Squall ordered tiredly before giving the guard who had spoken a blank look. "We're under contract with Miss Loire, and unless she suddenly wants her uncle dead, we have no interest in starting a war with you people."

"Er..." The guard sort of shuffled backwards at that, eyes shooting towards a smiling Ellone, who was leading Laguna to the transport into the presidential palace. "Right. Go on, then."

Seifer strapped Hyperion back on while en route to the transport, then sat down with Squall, looking curious. When it slid smoothly up into the air, he grabbed at the seat in surprise, then glowered at the amused gleam in Squall's eyes. The younger cadet was seated quite calmly, as if he'd expected that. _'Of course,'_ Seifer thought, _'if he's really been here before, I suppose he_ wouldn't _be surprised by moving seats. Ugh. Bastard.'_

By the time the chair had settled inside, Laguna had calmed down enough to lead them down the hallway and into a seating room, which was empty except for two other men in the strange robes the Esthar people – except Laguna, who wasn't really from Esthar – wore.

Laguna ran right up to the men and proclaimed, "I have a son!" and then promptly slouched in on himself and started hyperventilating again.

The two men turned to Ellone and the slightly shorter one said, "Hello again, Ellone. How have you been?"

Ellone smiled, absently rubbing Laguna's back. "I've been okay." She glanced back at Squall and Seifer, who were watching the proceedings with a blank look and an amused smirk, respectively. "Squall, Seifer, this is Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac, Uncle Laguna's best friends. Kiros, Ward, these are my, erm, protectors from Garden and foster brothers, Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy." She paused as Kiros zeroed in on Squall, who simply raised an eyebrow at him in response. "Well, Seifer's my foster brother; Squall is technically my adopted brother..."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Kiros offered smoothly.

"The pleasure is all ours," Squall replied in kind. Next to him, Seifer shook his head in disbelief, still trying to wrap his head around a diplomatic Squall.

"Please, have seats," Kiros offered before turning to Laguna, who was starting to calm down. "Laguna, sit before you fall over, please. Ward, perhaps some water?"

Ward nodded and lumbered from the room.

Seifer glanced curiously at Squall. "He's even quieter than you."

"He's mute," Squall replied drily.

Seifer nodded. "Right. You know, there was a rumour going around Garden at one point that you were actually mute."

Squall rubbed tiredly at the bridge of his nose. "Five years ago, yes." At Seifer's surprised look, Squall asked, "You think I don't pay attention to the rumours about me?"

Seifer frowned. "Well, yeah. You never seemed to, anyway."

"Hmm..."

Ward returned with drinks for all of them, which he passed around before taking an open chair.

Laguna calmed down enough after drinking some water that he turned uncertain eyes on his rather stoic son and asked, "So, uhm, you're a SeeD?"

Squall shrugged. "Cadet." Then he paused and faint frown lines appeared between his eyebrows, though his mouth stayed steady. "I _was_ a cadet."

"Wait, what?" Ellone looked up in concern. "Uncle Cid didn't kick you out, did he?"

"We've been gone too long without warning," Seifer explained patiently, smiling faintly at Ellone's horrified look. "Stop that, Elle. We knew what we were getting into before we left FH."

"But, I thought becoming SeeD was important to you!" Ellone exclaimed. Seifer had failed the exam twice, but he was still trying, and Squall had always seemed to work hard for it, too, from what she remembered of him in the past.

"There are more important things than SeeD," Squall intoned solemnly. At their confused looks, he added, "Such as the Sorceress War that's brewing."

"What?" Seifer asked even as Ellone shook her head in disbelief.

Laguna and his friends had all paled. "There's another Sorceress causing trouble?" Laguna asked, expression serious.

"Not that _I've_ heard," Seifer hissed, shooting Squall a sharp look.

"Not yet," Squall allowed. "But as soon as Ultimecia gets control of Matron in a little over a month, there will be."

"Matron's not a Sorceress," Seifer snapped.

"Matron doesn't have any thoughts of world domination, though," Ellone tried.

"Who is 'Matron'?" Laguna wondered.

Kiros glanced at Squall, who was watching the minor arguments sparking with a bland look. After another minute of debate – and Laguna's confused questions – Kiros let out a sharp whistle, catching everyone's attention. Once they had all turned to glare at him, most rubbing their ears, he turned to Squall and demanded, "Explain."

Squall raised an eyebrow at him, but settled back in his seat and offered, "Everything I'm about to say is going to sound completely insane, but I assure you that it's the complete truth. I ask that you hear me out for all of it."

The others traded looks, uncertain. Finally, Seifer offered, "I've never known you to make up stories for your own amusement. Except, maybe, that you did all that travelling last summer..."

Squall snorted. "I never said it was _last_ summer," he pointed out.

"Then _when_?"

Squall looked at the others, ignoring his rival for the moment. "Will you hear me out?"

"Yes," Laguna decided.

Squall nodded and took a sip of water, organising his thoughts. Eventually, he set his glass on the table between their seats and said, "Two weeks ago, I was awoken in the middle of the night by someone entering my room. I moved to confront that person, only to find myself looking at a much more battered version of myself." His eyes flickered towards Seifer, who was frowning faintly. "I thought it was a prank – it wouldn't have been the first – but he seemed to know where my hidden knives were next to my bed, and he sounded like me.

"He asked me the date so I told him. Then he said that everything was going to go to hell in two months and he wanted to change that, to protect the people he loved. When I reached for my gunblade, he reached out to stop me and we both blacked out. When I woke the next morning, I had one hell of a headache and Dr Kadowaki prescribed bed rest. After some sleep, everything had settled in my head and I realised that I had gained three more GFs, some magic I'd never even _heard_ of, and memories of a future I hadn't lived."

"Sorry," Laguna interrupted before turning to Ellone. "Is that possible? To send someone back to their younger self?"

"I... don't know..." Ellone admitted. "It's not within my powers, but there's a lot we don't know about time magic." She turned back to Squall, who had taken the break to sip at his water some more. "Squall, did _I_ send you back?"

Squall shook his head. "No, although it was partially through your efforts that it was made possible." He considered the expressions of his audience; no one looked particularly disbelieving, but nor did they look entirely willing to believe him yet. Shaking his head again, he offered, "There's a Sorceress in the future, Ultimecia, who hates SeeD for some reason we never learned for certain. She used – will use – a machine that Dr Odine created based on Sis' powers to send herself back in time to Matron – Edea Kramer. Matron became a Sorceress when she was a child and gained more powers when we –" he motioned between himself and Seifer, "– were children.

"I'm not certain what, exactly, drew Ultimecia to Matron, though I have my suspicions, but she possessed her and used her body to create an agreement with President Deling of Galbadia. SeeD was contracted to kill her, but we were caught and thrown in D-District Prison. While we were there, she fired missiles on Trabia Garden and levelled it." He paused while Seifer and Ellone both hissed in surprise. Laguna and his friends were grim, but unsurprised. "We escaped D-District and managed to get Balamb Garden out of the way of the next missile strike. Barely."

"Wait, you _moved_ Balamb?" Seifer wondered.

"All of the Gardens were built from the leftover mobile shelters people used to flee Centra during the Lunar Cry," Ellone offered. "Uncle Cid and Matron didn't see much point in making them mobile while they were used as schools, but they should all have the capability."

Squall nodded. "I figured it was something like that, since the controls were far beyond our understanding. We ended up floating to FH and they updated everything for us." He sighed. "Ultimecia ended up taking over Galbadia Garden and we clashed in Centra. A... lot of people died. On both sides." He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again to meet Laguna's understanding smile. "We defeated Ultimecia in Matron, only for her to jump into one of my friends." At their curious looks, he offered, "Rinoa Heartilly."

Seifer groaned. " _Rinoa_? How'd _she_ get involved with SeeD?"

"I believe some ex-boyfriend of hers suggested she contact us for assistance," Squall replied drily, making Seifer groan again. He glanced at the others and explained, "Rinoa is part of one of the resistance factions in Timber, although she's actually from Deling City. Myself, Zell Dincht and Selphie Tilmitt were contracted out to assist her and when we were required to flee Timber and given the mission to kill the Sorceress in Deling City, she ended up coming with."

"Wait, wait! Chicken-wuss made SeeD?" Seifer complained.

Squall turned to him, dark humour in his eyes. "His first time. You failed again, by the way."

"Oh, fuck you."

Squall returned to his tale while Seifer fumed, "We didn't know, at the time, what was actually wrong with Rinoa, only that she was unconscious. Matron wanted to visit Dr Odine about sealing her powers and I wanted to see if Sis could help me figure out what had happened to Rinoa. Since both were in Esthar, that's where we headed. When we arrived, we were told that Sis was up in the Lunar Base with the President, who was doing his yearly check on Adel's Tomb."

Laguna cleared his throat and shot Kiros a significant look. Kiros sighed and shook his head. "I know."

"I thought Adel was dead and her body burned," Seifer wondered.

"That's what Esthar told everyone else before we closed our borders," Laguna offered. "We didn't want to start another war because we'd frozen her and sent her into space. And we _don't_ tell outsiders, no matter what their relationship with us is." He glanced at Squall and offered him a tight smile. "For what it's worth, I believe you. Please, what happened?"

Squall nodded. "Once we got to the Base, Ultimecia possessed Rinoa and used her to unlock the seals on Adel's Tomb. While we were up there, Ultimecia's Knight had found the Lunatic Pandora and brought it to rest over Tear's Point. That started the Lunar Cry, and the monsters caught Adel's Tomb in the chaos."

"Well, shit," Laguna decided.

"We can tell the station to change their orbit," Kiros suggested.

"Why not just kick the tomb all together?" Seifer asked. "Lose her in space or something."

Laguna, Kiros and Ward exchanged looks before Kiros and Laguna deadpanned, "Odine."

"Fuck Odine," Squall hissed, eyes narrowed. "It's his fault we're in this mess to begin with. I like the idea of 'losing' Adel's Tomb. Or, better yet, lose it with a bomb attached so we don't have to put up with her ugly self again."

Laguna laughed at that and shook his head. "I'll look into it," he promised. "It would be nice to not have to worry about her any more. What happened with the Lunar Cry? Other than Esthar becoming an absolute mess."

Squall shrugged. "The Base evacuated in time. I had to go out and get Rinoa, which left us both behind in space. We made it to the Ragnarok, cleared out the monsters, and flew it back to the surface." Laguna beamed at the mention of the old ship. "When the Esthar scientists took Rinoa to be sealed, we stopped them and, ah, commandeered the Ragnarok. We brought it back, though," he added, seeing the crestfallen expression on Laguna's face. "You called us back to hire SeeD to deal with Adel and Ultimecia.

"Ultimecia's plan the entire time was to use Sis' gift and create Time Compression, so she could destroy the world and rule alone." At their disbelieving looks, he offered, "We thought she was insane, too. But there was no way to defeat her in our time, since she could just keep jumping bodies, so we had Sis send her back to a young Adel and create the Time Compression. We all jumped in and managed to defeat her, barely. I got a bit lost on the way back, and ended up meeting with my younger self, two and a half weeks ago."

They all fell silent to think things over while Squall finished his water and debated whose water he should steal next. He really wasn't used to talking that much. The last time he'd done so had been his announcements before and during their fight with Galbadia Garden. He suppressed a smirk at the memory; he'd made a joke about the hot dogs just to help everyone calm down, and maybe get a couple of laughs, but Nida hadn't been amused. Neither had Xu, now that he thought about it. Pity he'd missed Zell's reaction.

"Squall?" Seifer asked as Squall reached forward to grab his glass. Squall glanced at him, casually taking a sip, and Seifer blinked. "...Why did you just take my glass?"

Squall's eyes lit with a smirk even as he drily commented, "You weren't drinking it."

Seifer shook his head and tried to remember what he'd originally meant to ask. "Wait, oh, right. You mentioned Ultimecia had a Knight. Who was it?"

Squall's eyes darkened and he lowered the glass. "Does it matter?" he wondered.

Seifer frowned. "No, I suppose not..."

"I would like to know so we can try to remove any possible allies now," Kiros cut in, eyes sharp.

Squall closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked back at Seifer. "You were."

Seifer's eyes widened and he let out a choked sound. _'Should have guessed as much,'_ he told himself. _'My dream has always been to become a Knight, and if she was using Matron's body...'_

Squall had turned to Kiros while Seifer thought and commented, "If Seifer suddenly gets the urge to return to Ultimecia's services, I'll handle him."

Kiros considered the elder ex-cadet's shuttered expression and nodded. "I doubt it will become an issue," he decided before looking back at Squall. "You said you used Ellone to help Ultimecia initiate Time Compression. Do you know if it actually worked, killing her in the past?"

"I know Ultimecia passed her Sorceress powers on to Matron when I was four," Squall offered. "I watched her, it's how I got lost in Time Compression. So, yes, I'd say it worked out."

Kiros nodded. "Do you know when, exactly, Ultimecia possessed Edea Kramer?"

"I do not. I know the SeeD exam was to remove Galbadia soldiers from Dollet, which they had invaded to get their old radio tower up and running. Using that signal, they broadcast a live announcement from the Timber TV station about Sorceress Edea becoming Galbadia's new ambassador a few days later."

"So that's the first time we know her whereabouts for certain," Kiros mused.

Squall paused for a moment, then offered, "Before the parade where we tried to kill the sorceress, Ultimecia killed President Deling. I don't know if it did any good for Galbadia in the long run, but I have no compunctions about leaving her to do that again. Moreover, we won't have to worry about the security at the station."

"Or accidentally ending up on air," Laguna agreed, nodding. "I'd rather we didn't announce Ellone's abilities to the entire world, I think. Could you get into the presidential manor in time to catch her attention before the parade?"

"Easily," Squall assured him. "We might have to worry about Rinoa, assuming she gets dragged along on the mission again, but–"

"You said Rinoa talked to Cid because me?" Seifer interrupted, leaning forward.

Squall nodded. "That's what she told me. She spoke to him at the SeeD ball."

Seifer frowned thoughtfully. "If we can get a message to Cid, telling him _not_ to take Rinoa on as a client..."

"That would keep her out of the way," Squall agreed quietly. And wasn't that why he was changing things? To protect his friends? "I can try messaging Cid, I suppose, warning him against agreeing to the Forest Owls' contract. I don't know how much sway I might have, seeing as how I've basically defected, but..." He shook his head. "I can try. Both he and Matron had an inordinate amount of trust in me, after I showed up in the past and told Matron she would found SeeD."

"My brain hurts," Laguna announced.

Kiros sighed and dropped a hand on Laguna's shoulder. "Try not to think about it so much." He looked over at Seifer and Squall. "This gives us a little over a month to figure out an attack plan, and I doubt we'll need that long. What do you intend to do in the meantime?"

"Train," Squall deadpanned. "Possibly hunt down a couple of the GFs I don't have. I'll need to get Ragnarok to find a couple of them, but that shouldn't be too much trouble." His eyes gleamed. "Unless you prefer to leave it rotting in space."

"How hard was it to get her up and running?" Laguna wondered. "I know they lost control of her near the moon when some monsters invaded and when we sent the other two ships of the same class up there, the same thing happened. We eventually just stopped trying. But if you think you can regain control of her..."

"It was infested with Propagators, but once you know _how_ to get rid of them, it's not hard," Squall offered. "They come in coloured pairs, so you sort of have to kill them in those pairs. Not particularly easy, or fun, but it's certainly possible. You want to try getting the other two ships as well?"

Laguna nodded. "It would be nice to have them back again. Those three were commissioned to help settle Adel's Tomb in orbit, and the team that built them agreed that there wasn't much sense in creating more, not when we had a system in place to travel between the surface and the Lunar Base and we had already closed our borders. If we're planning to move the Tomb again, though, I'd like to have those ships." He smiled. "And you wanted one of them to get a couple of GFs, you said?"

"Bahamut and Eden, yes," Squall agreed. "And the Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell are excellent places for any training, as well as finding high-level magic." He glanced at Seifer. "We could both use the training if we're going to take on Ultimecia."

Seifer startled. "You're letting me come with?"

Squall grimaced faintly. "I can't take her by myself," he admitted, "and there's no reason to leave you to cool your heels in Esthar when you're a perfectly capable fighter."

Seifer frowned. "And if I were to become her Knight again?"

Squall cocked his head to one side. "Do you want to?"

Seifer considered that for a moment. _'Becoming a Sorceress' Knight has always been my dream. But the things I would have to do... Send missiles towards Garden?'_ He shuddered. "No."

"Then you won't," Squall replied. "And if you suddenly change your mind, I'll make you a eunuch." His lips curled with that evil little half-smile that Seifer was almost used to, for all that it still scared the shit out of him.

There was a round of laughter at that, while Seifer grimaced. They were interrupted by Ward's stomach making a loud hungry sound, which he flushed at.

Laguna chuckled and shook his head. "How about dinner? I'll have someone set up rooms for you three while we're eating."

Ellone beamed. "I can't wait to sleep in a real bed again," she declared as they all stood to head for the dining room.

"Sorry, Sis," Squall offered.

Ellone shook her head and slipped her arm in his. "It was worth it," she assured him. "I'm back with Uncle Laguna _and_ you and Seifer are here." Her smile fell a bit. "If only Raine was here."

"You can't change the past, Sis," Squall said gently.

Ellone frowned at him. " _You're_ changing the past."

Squall paused, considering that. After a moment, he offered, "But it's not my past I'm changing, it's my future. It was the other Squall's past, but all I've got are his memories." He met her eyes, storm-grey eyes dark and serious. "I'm not him, Ellone. I never lived through that war, for all I remember it."

"It makes sense, when you put it that way," Laguna offered, resting a hand lightly on Ellone's shoulder and smiling at Squall. "Come on, let's get some food."

They retired to the dining room, where food was already being served for them. Laguna paused long enough to request that three rooms be set up near his for his guests, then joined them at the table to eat.

Over dessert, Kiros commented, "We can see about sending a team or two up to collect the Ragnarok, Armageddon, and Qiyamah tomorrow."

"Squall already knows how to defeat those monsters, can we send him up?" Laguna wondered, flashing his son a smile. "And you know how to pilot it, right?"

"For the most part," Squall agreed. He'd never actually flown the Ragnarok himself, but he'd been there while the Esthar technicians taught Selphie and Zell.

Laguna nodded and looked back at Kiros. "See."

"We'll need at least three pilots to get all three ships," Kiros pointed out drily.

"Most pilots can't fight their way out of a paper bag."

Squall snorted, amused, a waved his fork towards Seifer. "I can give Seifer a crash course in piloting the Ragnarok, so that makes two of us. It shouldn't be too hard to find a third pilot with fighting capabilities."

Laguna grinned at Kiros, who sighed. "Very well. If neither of you have any complaints, we can set out in the morning."

Squall nodded while Seifer just shook his head in disbelief. "We're going into space?"

"We'll probably have to take a pod to the ships," Kiros commented, "since they're too far out of reach of the station to reach them on your average suit fuel pack, but that shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Once you've got the ships, you can send the Tomb off," Laguna added, looking thoughtful. "You'll have to ask Piet to attach a few explosives to it and have them do that while you're collecting the ships." He sighed. "I don't know how far we'll have to take her before her powers won't be able to be passed on."

"Odine might know," Kiros pointed out. "Or, at the very least, have a theory."

"He's not going to like this," Laguna pointed out, looking worried.

"Tell him if he doesn't cooperate, he'll never get to talk to Sis again. That should shut him up," Squall commented drily. "Alternately, promise him a life of solitary confinement."

Laguna snorted. "The Council would never let me lock him up."

"Tell them one of his inventions is going to create another super-bitch," Seifer suggested. "Squall _did_ say Ultimecia was using one of his inventions to come back and possess Matron."

Kiros stood. "If we're intending to launch at first light, we should probably get some sleep. There's nothing fun about getting placed in cold sleep while you're exhausted, and waking up on the other side is even worse."

"He has a point," Laguna agreed, then looked over at where a young man was standing by the door. "Andrew, could you show Seifer and Squall to their rooms, please?"

"Of course, President Laguna," the young man agreed.

Just as Seifer and Squall reached the door, Laguna called, "Squall?"

Squall glanced back at him. "Yes?"

Laguna looked uncertain, but offered, "Once we've got the ships, maybe we could, uhm, catch up?" He tried a hopeful smile.

Squall blinked, then inclined his head. "Of course."

Laguna grinned.

"Call Odine," Kiros ordered as they started through the door and Laguna's expression fell.

Seifer laughed as the door closed behind them and they started down the hallway. "So, how hard is it to pilot one of these things?" he asked Squall.

Squall shrugged. "Not too hard. There's a trick to moving the arms, and landing is a minor pain. The controls remind me of the X-34," he added, referring to one of the more complicated boats that SeeD used for large scale missions.

Seifer groaned. "I hated the X-34s."

"No one likes the X-34s. You can pilot it, though."

"Yeah." Seifer sighed. "We'll manage."

Outside their rooms, the teens and Kiros traded good nights, then headed for bed.

Before he closed his eyes to sleep, Squall muttered, "Must remember to see about sending a transmission to Cid in the morning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what the other two ships with the Ragnarok were called – they seem to be referred to as 'Ragnaroks', but unless they've got letter designations we don't know about, that would be monumentally mad. So I hunted down a couple of other terms meaning the end of the world and used those for the other two ships.  
> Also, tried to give a plausible explanation for why they no longer use them, as well as why no more were made. Bah. Plot holes.


	3. Fly Over Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raijin and Fujin's last names are taken from their Japanese voice actors in _Kingdom Hearts II_. Just FYI.
> 
> I thought I should mention this before someone bitches, but since we don't know the actual size of this world or how far the moon is from it, etc, I sort of shat out my arse about how long it took them to get Adel's Tomb out of range and then return to the planet. We've got stats for the Ragnarok, but that only helps so much.
> 
> I debated for a bit about whether or not I should use the whole 'males can become Sorceresses too' plot point. I've seen it fairly often in the fandom – maybe I just read the wrong fics? – and I didn't want to feel like I was copying anyone, but it sort of ended up writing itself, no matter what I tried to do different. So, I'm sorry in advance, if that irritates anyone. (Yeah, should have mentioned that in chapter one. But, you know what? I'm a bitch like that.)

Squall did, in fact, send a message out to Cid first thing in the morning. The car Kiros had borrowed had a connection to the world-wide message system installed, so he sent it from there while they were on their way to the Lunar Gate.

"May I?" Seifer requested once Squall was done.

Squall shrugged and handed it over. "Fujin and Raijin?"

Seifer nodded. "I'd like to let them know where I am. They never cared so much about SeeD, anyway, so they'll probably come join us." He paused and glanced up at where Kiros was driving. "Is that going to be a problem?"

Kiros shook his head. "It shouldn't be, no. I can send a message to security to let them know they're safe once we get to the Gate. As long as they're not likely to pass on the secret of the entrance to anyone else, we won't stop them."

"They won't," Seifer promised, going back to his message. He was writing it up in the code Fujin had designed a few years ago for secret messages, so it was taking him longer than Squall's quick note to Cid. "Hey, Squall?"

"Hm?"

"Did you leave anything at Garden that you wanted? Fuu can probably sneak into your room and get it, assuming they haven't bagged our things."

Squall blinked, then nodded. "Revolver's case."

"What's your room code?"

Squall rattled it off, then sat back while Seifer finished and sent his message. "Depending on how long it takes us to collect the ships and get rid of Adel's Tomb, we may be able to pick Fujin and Raijin up on Horizon Bridge," Squall commented.

Seifer grinned a bit madly. "I certainly hope so. That would be more awesome than them taking the scenic route."

They arrived at the Gate and stood by to listen while the tech explained the process to Seifer. Seifer looked a bit more nervous about the whole thing, but he got into the capsule he was directed to without any fuss and they were all put into cold sleep and launched into space.

Once they were safely on the Base and gravity had been generated in the arrivals section, Piet joined them with a grin. "Hey, Kiros. Fancy seeing you up here."

"Did Laguna contact you with our mission?" the dark-skinned man asked.

Piet nodded. "You three are going to try and get the ships, yeah. We've got a pod on stand-by in the bay and you know where the suits are. Now that we've got you three, we can turn the station so we can actually shoot you at the damn things."

"And the Tomb?" Squall asked as he and an unsteady Seifer joined the two men.

"The President mentioned something about you all intending to blow it sky-high, yeah. We don't have any explosives up here, though, and sending them up is asking for trouble."

Squall shrugged. "The ships have particle cannons and lasers; we can shoot her ourselves."

"I don't want to be _anywhere_ near that Tomb when it goes," Kiros refused, shaking his head. "I don't care if only women can inherit, I'm not chancing it."

Squall and Seifer traded shrugs. "We'll do it," Seifer offered. "Once it's far enough out from the Base, you can head back and let us know when you're back here. We'll blow it then."

"If you're sure..." Kiros agreed uncertainly.

"We're guys." Seifer rolled his eyes. "Nothing will happen."

"Don't jinx yourselves," Piet suggested, turning towards the door out. "Let's get you three into suits, then, and into the pod. We've got a weak radio link set up with it and we can let you know when you're close enough to one of the ships to make it by suit. Once you're out there, though, you're on your own." He shot a faintly worried look over his shoulder at the three fighters as they made their way through the Base. "You're sure you want to go through with this? We lost three crews with those ships, you know."

"I'd like to think we're a bit more capable than they were," Seifer muttered.

"We're sure," Kiros said, ignoring Seifer.

They suited up in the prep room and hashed together some slings to hold their weapons. As Kiros had pointed out, they had no guarantee that _all_ the ships still had a working atmosphere, and they'd be travelling back and forth between the ships, so having to remove and put back on their suits each time would be troublesome. All things considered, wearing their weapons outside their suits was the best for all of them.

"As long as you don't punch a nice-sized hole in the suit, you should be fine," Piet agreed once they were all suited up and on their way to the pods.

"We'll try to stick to distance attacks, then," Squall decided, glancing towards Kiros. "Do you have a way to manage para-magic?"

Kiros shrugged. "No. I can grab one of the machine guns in the control room."

Squall nodded at that, recalling that Kiros really didn't care for magic-users – his reaction to Rinoa had been all the evidence he needed – and didn't bother arguing it.

The launch and jump from the capsule to the nearest ship – the Armageddon – went off without a hitch. Defeating the Propagators while Squall and Seifer were only able to safely use lower-levelled magic to avoid blowing a hole in the hull was a bit more interesting, but the three of them managed well enough.

They'd had to break after clearing the second ship – the Ragnarok – for some much needed sleep, but had figured out a system of fighting by the time they got to the Qiyamah. Seifer had also spent time on both ships learning the controls, so he took over the Qiyamah while Kiros took the Armageddon and Squall the Ragnarok.

With the three ships under their control, they returned to Adel's Tomb. It took some assistance from Kiros over the ship-to-ship radios for Seifer and Squall to properly manage the arms of their ships, but they were eventually able to. They grabbed the Tomb and took off away from both the moon and planet. It took them a number of hours to reach a safe distance and Kiros immediately headed back while Squall and Seifer took the time to stretch.

"You know, I almost wish we'd brought a couple more pilots with us," Seifer commented over the ship-to-ship radio. "Getting stuck in that chair for so long sucked."

 _"At lea...ou get....eak,"_ Kiros replied.

 _"Kiros, remain in contact with us,"_ Squall ordered. _"You're breaking up on our end and I want to know how long we'll be in contact."_

_"...oud and clea... here. I...ay in cont...ough."_

"Fuck, that's annoying. Any way to boost the signal?" Seifer wondered, considering the controls.

 _"It's because of the Tomb,"_ Squall offered. _"Kiros, we're really having trouble receiving you. It took us about six hours to get out here, so we'll give you seven, then blow it."_

_"Cop...od luc..."_

"I guess that means it's just you and me, Squall," Seifer commented, grinning to himself.

 _"Make that just yourself. I intend to get a nap in,"_ Squall shot back.

"Oh? You have an alarm on you?"

_"Use your watch."_

"Er, right. Forgot about that."

_"If you're really worried, sleep in the cockpit and I'll radio you. I know you have a hard time getting up for class."_

"Oh, shut up." Seifer crossed his arms over his chest and glowered out the front display towards Ragnarok.

Squall snorted over the radio. _"Good night, Seifer."_

"Yeah, good night, Squall."

-0-

_"I really hate you,"_ Squall said tiredly over the radios after they'd blown the Tomb.

Seifer groaned and rubbed his arm, which had knocked rather painfully against the weapons console when he was knocked out. "I'm _sorry_ , okay. Only _females_ can inherit a Sorceress' magic. It shouldn't be possible for us."

 _"I_ really _hate you."_

"You mentioned that." Seifer sighed. "Let's just get back to the planet, okay? You can hate me in person, then."

 _"With_ pleasure _. I might just freeze off your balls, too."_

"Would you leave my poor balls out of this?!"

Squall was ominously silent.

Seifer grimaced and set his controls, then leaned back in his chair and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Dammit, Squall. I didn't mean to jinx us, okay. And I'm not happy about it, either."

There was a long silence, then, _"Sorry. I know."_ He sighed. _"Maybe this will make it easier to fight Ultimecia, maybe it'll make us options for possession. I don't know."_

Seifer closed his eyes and admitted, "I'm scared." Getting possessed by some uber bitch from the future didn't sound like the least bit of fun. Never mind everything he'd heard about Odine... "We can't let Odine find out."

 _"I'm not letting_ anyone _find out,"_ Squall swore.

"Not even your dad?"

_"...I don't know. Would you?"_

Seifer considered that, then shrugged. "He doesn't seem like a bad guy, necessarily."

_"He's not. Before, in my memories, Sis took a couple of us back to Laguna's life before I was born. He's a bit of an idiot, but he means well. And he... really loved my mom..."_

"But?"

_"We're orphans, Seifer. Raised to be mercenaries. What would you do if you suddenly found out you had a dad?"_

Seifer sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. Ask him why he wasn't around, I suppose. Ask him why..." He paused, his thoughts catching up to him. "You... Squall, he's not going to abandon you." Because, in spite of all the time and missing memories, Seifer still knew what made Squall tick. He'd always known his rival's deepest fear, just like Squall probably knew his own of being helpless to protect what was important to him.

Squall was silent long enough that Seifer was beginning to think he wouldn't respond, then he commented, _"Everyone leaves."_

" _I_ haven't left you!"

_"You did, though. The other you. You abandoned me for Ultimecia."_

" _I'm not that person!_ " Seifer hissed. "Dammit, Squall! I _came after you_ , okay? I gave up fucking _everything_ for you. I'm not going to turn around and leave you like some fucking prick that had my face!"

Squall let out an odd sort of choked sound and it took Seifer a minute to realise that the other teen was laughing.

Seifer sighed and shook his head. "You're a piece of work."

 _"Likewise,"_ Squall replied, amusement in his voice. _"I don't know what I'll do about Laguna. Are you going to tell Fujin and Raijin?"_

Seifer snorted. "If I don't, Fuu'll have it figured out by the end of the day, anyway."

 _"When we get back to the planet, we can radio to see if they're there yet,"_ Squall suggested.

"You know, I _really_ hope they're not listening in," Seifer commented.

Squall was silent for a long moment, then said, _"About three hours out, we lost Lunar Base, remember? Unless they've got some seriously boosted equipment all of a sudden, they shouldn't be able to hear us for a couple more hours."_

"And the Armageddon?"

_"Unless Kiros is hanging out by the Base for some reason, he should be docked in Esthar. They'd have no reason to keep the radio on, then."_

"And there's no guarantee the signal is that strong," Seifer agreed. "Okay. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

 _"It's a valid concern,"_ Squall returned. _"We don't want them to know what happened, so we don't want to chance them listening in."_

"It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you, huh?"

_"Basically. I suppose we'll know for sure once we reach the planet. If they try tricking us into the Sorceress Memorial, run for it."_

Seifer snorted. "Yeah, okay. That's where they sealed Adel?"

_"Mmhm. And almost Rinoa."_

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around Rinoa as a Sorceress."

_"She didn't act like one, really. I mean, if she was in trouble, she'd blast whatever with her magic, but otherwise she was just like always. I mean, she junctioned fine and didn't act any different."_

"So there's no visible difference between a Sorceress and a normal person?" Seifer wondered, curious.

_"Not so far as I saw. I mean, Matron's been a Sorceress since before we knew her, and we never noticed anything odd. Even in what few memories I have of her, I don't notice anything off."_

"That's true. But you could tell Adel was a Sorceress."

 _"You know those stories about Sorceresses going mad? I think they must change a bit when their magic gets out of control, because while Matron was possessed she looked different, and Ultimecia looked a bit odd, too. She had claws."_ Squall paused. _"Actually, now that I think about it, so did Matron."_

"Did Adel?"

_"No. But she was creepy looking enough without them."_

Seifer laughed. "I'll take your word for it. Didn't get a particularly good look at her."

_"Count your lucky stars. I have nightmares about her."_

Seifer shook his head, then commented, "You talk a lot more, suddenly."

_"...I never had much reason to talk, at Garden. What was there to say? And now I remember all my friends... They always wanted me to talk more, Rinoa especially. I guess I got used to it."_

"She would. But... I'm kinda glad for it, really. A little bothered that it was _Rinoa_ of all people who brought you out of your silence, but glad."

_"What is it with you people and wanting me to talk, anyway?"_

"We just have this _need_ to hear your beautiful voi–"

_"I wonder if I can freeze your balls from here."_

Seifer laughed and shook his head. "Your fondness for ice spells is a little scary, Squall."

_"It's why Shiva and I get on so well."_

"I don't doubt that. Hey, I've been wondering... You mentioned the Chicken-wuss and Rinoa, but who were the other people you travelled with?"

_"Oh, everyone from the orphanage. Zell, Quistis, Irvine and Selphie. And Rinoa."_

"Irvine and Selphie?"

_"Selphie's really loud and bouncy–"_

Seifer frowned as he tried to remember those days. "With dark hair?"

_"Yeah."_

"I liked her. She was a lot of fun, and she wouldn't take my teasing like Chicken-wuss and the Little Miss would."

 _" 'Little Miss'?"_ Squall gave that strange, choked laugh again. _"Auburn hair?"_

"Yeah, that was him."

_"That's Irvine. He's quite the lady's man, now."_

Seifer snickered. "Is he still shorter than everyone?"

_"He's taller than me. Taller than all of us, really. You might still have a few centimetres on him, though."_

"Does that mean I shouldn't call him 'Little Miss' any more?"

_"Only if you want your balls shot off. He's a sniper."_

"What _is_ it with you and my balls?"

_"They're the only part of you I can effectively threaten."_

Seifer snorted and shook his head. "I think you have a thing for them, Squall. You know, if you really want to–" Seifer jumped at the cold feeling that permeated his seat. "Fuck that's cold! You god-damn bastard!"

_"My aim must have been off."_

"I'm gonna fucking flame your ass."

Squall actually laughed at that, a real, honest-to-goodness laugh, though it was a little strained.

Seifer sighed and sat back in his chair, ignoring the chill. "I really hate you," he commented, but there was no feeling in the comment.

_"Yeah, I hate you too."_

Seifer smiled to himself and pulled his gunblade polish out of his pocket to see to Hyperion.

-0-

Fujin and Raijin hadn't arrived in Esthar by the time they returned, so the two teens parked at the Airstation and Seifer transferred to the Ragnarok. "Alright, I'm on-board," he said over the intercom to the cockpit as he finished closing the main hanger. He and Squall had agreed that it was best if they took one ship so one of them could pilot while the other controlled the door.

 _"Are you coming up here, or do I have to look out for them myself?"_ Squall wondered drily as the ship took off.

"What, you can't multi-task?" Seifer chuckled. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

Up in the cockpit, Seifer slid into the co-pilot's chair as Squall flipped the switch that turned off the radio. "That was the Airstation," he offered at Seifer's curious look. "They wanted to know when we'd be back, so Laguna could meet us there. He's in a meeting right now, or he'd probably have hopped on board when we set down."

"I had wondered about that a bit," Seifer admitted. "He was saying he wanted to take a spin in one of these ships at breakfast the other morning."

"I think he wants out of Esthar for a little bit, too." Squall shrugged. "He used to travel a lot, before he met Raine, and even after, while he was looking for Sis. I can't imagine it would be fun to be stuck behind a desk all day, no matter how geometrically pleasing the view out the window is."

Seifer snorted. "Getting stuck in one place would suck. Oh, hey!" He jerked forward and pointed at a couple of specks on Horizon Bridge. "Is that them?"

Squall thumbed the controls. "Hold on."

They slid down, closer to the bridge, and Seifer could make out Fujin's shock of silver hair. "That's them."

Squall nodded. "I'll circle around, then. You want to get the hanger open?"

"Yup!" Seifer jumped from his chair and dashed to the lift. Once he was in the main hanger, he hit the control and grinned as the door slid open to show a wide-eyed Fujin and Raijin. "Afternoon!" he shouted over the wind and engines.

"SEIFER!" Fujin exclaimed, shock transforming into a smile.

Seifer motioned them aboard, since he could hardly hear himself think with all the noise, never mind have an actual conversation. Raijin had to help Fujin up, but once they were both aboard, Seifer slammed the door controls and turned on the intercom. "They're on board."

 _"Okay. Taking off,"_ Squall replied and the ship lurched a bit.

Seifer grinned at his friends. "It is _awesome_ to see you two again. Utterly _awesome_."

"Says the one who left in the first place, ya know," Raijin replied, but he slapped Seifer on the back all the same, looking pleased.

"WHY?" Fujin asked once she'd given Seifer a hug.

"Squall was acting weird. I followed him." Seifer shrugged.

"Oh, yeah, guess that was Leonhart just now, ya know," Raijin realised. "I suppose that means you haven't killed him on accident, ya know."

"I wouldn't kill him," Seifer swore. "His father would send the whole Esthar army out for my head."

"You met his dad, then?"

"Yeah, he's president of Esthar." Seifer grinned a bit madly at their surprised looks. "Yeah, I know. Pretty cool guy, though. Bit absent-minded, but still cool. Nothing like Squall."

"WHERE?" Fujin asked, pointing at the floor of the Ragnarok.

"What? Oh, where'd we pick up the Ragnarok?" Fujin nodded. "The Estharians sort of lost it and two other ships like it to the monsters on the moon a few years ago. Squall, one of the presidential aides and I all went up there and got them back. Sounds like Laguna's giving this one to Squall as a belated birthday present."

The floor shuddered, startling the other two, but Seifer just grinned and waited for the engines to cut off before saying, "We've landed."

The lift whirred down the hall and Squall appeared after a moment, as stoic as ever. He offered his fellow cadets a nod. "Fujin, Raijin."

"Leonhart," Raijin said for both of them.

Seifer rolled his eyes and hit the button to open the hanger. "Is Laguna here?"

Squall shook his head. "Still in a meeting. Ward's here, though."

Seifer nodded and ushered the other two out ahead of them. When they stopped at the bottom of the ramp to stare at the city, he offered, "Welcome to Esthar."

"IMPRESSIVE," Fujin announced.

"Those are the other two ships you found, right?" Raijin asked, glancing at where two more ships like the Ragnarok were parked behind them.

"The Armageddon and the Qiyamah," Seifer agreed, grinning at the two ships.

"If your mouth gets stuck in that position, I'll laugh," Squall warned him as he hit the button to close the hanger.

"Wouldn't want to give anyone a heart attack," Seifer mused.

Squall shot him an unimpressed look.

"You're back!" a happy voice called as Ellone and Ward appeared around the entrance into the building.

Squall wrapped her in a hug when she reached him, eyes softening. "So we are. What did you do while we were gone?"

"I read through Uncle Laguna's library," Ellone proclaimed. "He has all sorts of books on Sorceresses and I thought you might be interested, since we're going to be taking on Ultimecia, right? Most of them were written by Odine, but they're not too bad..."

Seifer grinned at the startled looks on his friends' faces. "Elle," he called before she could steal Squall away.

Ellone turned and smiled. "Hi, Seifer! Sorry, I got so caught up talking to Squall..." She let go of Squall and gave Seifer a hug before turning to look at Raijin and Fujin. "You must be Seifer's friends! I'm Ellone, Squall's sister."

Seifer snorted at the helpless look on Squall's face at that proclamation.

"I... don't think I see the family resemblance, ya know," Raijin offered uncertainly.

"Elle was adopted by Squall's mom," Seifer offered. "Elle, Raijin Nakai and Fujin Natsuki. Rai, Fuu, Ellone Loire."

"PLEASURE," Fujin decided.

"Oh, yeah, it's nice to meet ya, ya know?"

"What's Laguna's meeting about?" Squall asked Ward as they started towards the building. Ellone slipped her arm through Squall's again and Seifer caught up to see Ward's response.

'You two,' Ward signed. 'What you'll be doing here, why we should keep you in the palace.'

"Isn't that for Laguna to decide, not the Council?" Seifer wondered. Kiros had explained a bit about the way Esthar was set up on their way out to dump Adel's Tomb. The Council of Ministers made most of the decisions, for all that Laguna had the title 'President'.

'You're a security risk,' Ward explained, looking pointedly at the gunblades both teens carried.

"I suppose openly worn weaponry would make them nervous," Squall agreed quietly. "Would the Council feel better if we agreed to leave our gunblades in our rooms unless we were planning to leave the city for training?"

Ward considered that, then shrugged. 'I can't say either way for certain, but that might make them feel better, sure. You're still both armed, though.'

"We're from Garden; we can't help our training," Seifer commented in the dry tone Squall usually used.

"Will Fuu and me being here be a problem?" Raijin wondered, looking worried.

"We can say you're from town," Seifer suggested. "It's not like either of you cared about becoming SeeD, and you don't carry obvious weapons like Squall and I."

Ward looked over at the two new teens and nodded. 'They shouldn't cause any concern. Give them Esthar-style robes and no one would look twice.'

"No offence, but those robes are creepy," Seifer informed their host.

Ward offered him a smile, silently agreeing.

Squall glanced at Seifer. "Do you want to see if we can interrupt their meeting?"

"I thought you'd turned over a new, diplomatic leaf," Seifer joked.

"I've been stuck piloting the Ragnarok for almost two days straight," Squall replied drily. "I blew up my diplomacy with the Tomb."

Seifer snickered while Raijin and Fujin shot the younger gunblader disbelieving looks.

"Did he just make a joke?" Raijin wondered quietly to Seifer and Fujin.

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"He does that every now and then," Seifer offered. "It's not the end of the world, just a hiccough in the threads of time."

Ward had found them a car for transportation, so they all slipped in and returned to the palace. There, Ellone offered, "I'll show Raijin and Fujin to their rooms, if you want to try talking to the Council."

Squall and Seifer traded looks, then unbuckled their gunblades in sync and held them out to Ellone and Fujin. "No point walking in there obviously armed," Seifer offered to their amused looks.

"We'll see ya when you're done, ya know," Raijin offered as the two girls took the weapons.

"Have fun," Seifer replied while he and Squall fell in behind Ward, who had agreed to lead them to the Council Room.

The guard standing outside the door looked suddenly wary when he recognised the two gunbladers, but he relaxed a bit upon realising they didn't have their weapons.

"We're here to speak with the Council," Squall announced, eyes narrowed.

"They're, uhm... They're in a meeting... Sirs."

"Yeah, a meeting about _us_ ," Seifer snapped.

The guard looked hopefully at Ward, as if the man would have led them there if he wasn't going to let them in, and Ward just shook his head and motioned for the two teens to enter.

Squall pushed the door open with a lot less force than Seifer would have done, but almost with more presence than slamming the door would have managed. There was something impressive about the smaller gunblader when he was irritated, which was probably why so many people at Garden had been leery of crossing him, for all that most of them had been bigger than the lithe teen.

"We heard you were talking about us?" Seifer offered when Squall did nothing more than stand in the doorway and glare down each and every Council Member separately.

"Squall! Seifer!" Laguna rose from his chair, smiling with a touch of panic. "If you want, we can talk–"

"If you don't mind, Dad, I'd like to say something to the Council," Squall offered quietly.

He'd only used the fond term for his father to catch the Council's attention, but Laguna beamed at him for it and re-took his seat all the same. "Feel free."

Squall considered the Council, most of whom were looking between their president and the teen in the doorway in shock. "Seifer and I left Garden over a week ago. For the moment, we are simply here as guests of my father and sister. We have nothing against your nation and will gain nothing by making any actions against you. If it makes you feel more secure, we are willing to leave our gunblades in our rooms unless we're leaving the city."

The Council traded looks for a long moment before one of them asked, "And what do you two intend to do with yourselves? You don't sound like you intend to go back to your murderer's camp."

"What did you just call–!"

"Seifer," Squall warned and Seifer subsided, though he locked a glare on the Minister who'd spoken. "We are mercenaries," Squall said to the Council. "We're trained to kill and follow orders. If you insist we create a niche for ourselves in your city, you'll have to make one for us that you're comfortable with."

"Do you intend to return to your Garden?" another Minister asked, eyeing Seifer's hostile expression uncertainly.

Squall considered that for a moment, then replied, "We have no reason to return to Garden, no; we have no friends there to visit, and we left with no intention of returning to the SeeD program."

Another Minister called, "Very well. We will discuss your situation and call for you again once we have decided what to do with you for the long term. For the moment, you are guests and it is requested that you remain unarmed in the city unless you have intentions of leaving for training. You're dismissed."

Squall shot a glance at Laguna – who beamed at him – before turning and half-pushing Seifer back out of the room. "Thank you, Ward," he said once the door had closed behind them.

Ward nodded. 'It was my pleasure. It's always nice to see the Council brought down a peg or two. Shall I show you to the residential wing?'

"Please," Squall agreed. "I'm not yet familiar enough with this building to find it on my own." He chanced a glance towards the silently seething Seifer. "I doubt either of us are. Seifer, do we need to find somewhere to spar so you can get your temper under control?"

Seifer startled out of his anger at his name and looked down at the other teen, who raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe," he agreed sheepishly.

Squall looked up at Ward, who nodded. 'Do you wish to get your weapons first?'

The teens traded looks, then shook their heads.

'This way, then.'

They walked down the hall and took the lift to a lower level. There, Ward led them to a large, empty room with a high ceiling. 'Will this do?'

"Yeah. Thanks, Ward," Seifer agreed, pulling off his coat and checking the knives strapped against his arms. "Squall?"

"Hand-to-hand?" Squall suggested in response as he shrugged out of his own jacket. He, too, had knives strapped against his arms.

Seifer nodded and they both tossed their coats against the wall while Ward found a wall to lean against. The teens stepped out into the middle of the room and both got into guard positions, watching each other with cautious eyes. Like all SeeD cadets, they had been trained in a variety of weapons, such as hand-to-hand, knives, guns and swords, then specialised in a weapon of their choosing. While both teens were only masters with their gunblades, they could use other weapons easily enough. For example, Squall could pick up Quistis' whip and control it almost as well as she could, and Seifer had a great deal of skill with staffs, for all that he preferred his weapons bladed.

At some unknown signal, both dashed forwards, Squall going low while Seifer went high. Squall almost connected with Seifer's stomach, but the larger teen spun out of the way, bringing his foot around to kick Squall's back. Squall avoided the foot by falling to the ground and spinning his own legs around to throw Seifer off balance and give himself enough time to get back to his feet.

They spent a good fifteen minutes dancing around one another before, in a motion too fast for their audience – which had grown to include a few curious guards, Laguna, Kiros and a couple of particularly brave Ministers – to spot, both drew the knives from their arms and clashed, hilt to hilt. They both managed to catch the other a number of times with the blades as they danced around for another few minutes.

Finally, in silent agreement, they pulled apart and sent an absent Cure at each other before putting their knives away.

"That was an informative demonstration," one of the Ministers commented.

Two pairs of sharp eyes, one steel grey, the other forest green, turned to consider their audience. After a moment, they both raised their left eyebrows, oddly in sync.

"It wasn't intended as a demonstration," Seifer commented calmly, "although you're certainly welcome to view it as such, if you'd prefer."

"So the stories of SeeD training children to fight like brawlers on the street is true," the other Minister said derisively.

"Do you _really_ want to insult them right now?" the first Minister enquired of her fellow.

"They dare not do anything to me," the man snapped, scowling at the woman.

Seifer and Squall traded looks before each drawing and throwing a knife in a blink. They landed with dull thuds in the wall behind the rude Minister, close enough to clip off some strands of hair, but not draw blood.

"We may not be interested in doing you harm, Minister, but don't think us weak for our compliance. Garden has been our home for as long as we remember, and we don't appreciate you speaking of it so crudely," Squall commented in a dark voice.

"Anyway, there's nothing that says we can't make you piss yourself a bit," Seifer added smugly, eyeing the wet patch on the front of the man's robe.

"I'll have you both thrown out for this!" the man roared before fleeing the room.

"I hate spineless politicians," Seifer complained as he and Squall approached the wary group of onlookers to grab their knives, which went back in the straps on their arms.

Squall turned to his father. "Have they reached a consensus on what to do with us yet, or is there another reason you decided to hunt us down?" He nodded his thanks when Seifer handed him his jacket.

"We decided to adjourn for dinner and have another meeting tomorrow," Laguna explained. "The guard outside the Council Room mentioned something about you needing to spar, so I decided to come find you. Madam Stavola–" he nodded to the Minister still in the room, "–and Minister Amick followed me on a whim."

"Hm. Well, I'm hungry," Seifer decided. Squall nodded a bit absently next to him.

"Then let's go eat!" Laguna declared before leading the way out of the room, Ward silently following.

Kiros joined Squall and Laguna as they fell in behind the overly excited President. "That was quite an impressive show."

"It was just a spar," Seifer replied with a yawn. "We do it all the time."

"Not often without our gunblades," Squall added quietly.

"Well, yeah, that part was unusual, but the spar itself wasn't. You're still damn-hard to pin down."

Squall's eyes lit with amusement. "And you're too strong for your own good. You almost snapped my arm."

"I knew you'd slip free."

Squall glanced at Kiros. "That one Minister, Stavola, wasn't too bad."

"She was a member of the Sorceress' Guard," Kiros explained. "She understands the need to dedicate her life to fighting and still goes outside the city every few days to take on some monsters."

"It's nice to know we've got an ally on the Council," Seifer decided. "Even if it is just the one. Squall?" he asked at his rival's troubled expression.

"I almost wish we could make Ultimecia's defeat more public, but we can't take that risk," Squall commented quietly.

"Nah. Earning their respect that way is like cheating. Fuu! Rai!" he called upon seeing his friends already at the table.

"We were waiting for you, ya know," Raijin said as the two gunbladers sat across from the other two teens and Ellone.

"We were sparring for a bit," Seifer admitted. "I got really pissed off at something one of the Council Members said and Squall made me cool down. Did you have fun, though, while we were beating each other up?"

The other three settled in to talk about their afternoon/evening spent watching a couple of Estharian films Ellone had found in the library. The adults smiled as they watched the younger generation relax with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh. The sparring was unexpected, but there you go.  
> It's always bothered me a bit that, in the game, the others were useless in D-District because they didn't know how to fight without their personal weapons. It's not like you can look at a line of weapons on a rack and immediately know, 'Oh! That's the one for me!' You have to try a few out, learn a bit with them... Anyway, considering that they're a mercenary force, it would make sense for them to be trained in more than just their chosen weapon, _especially_ when your chosen weapon is as unusual as a gunblade or giant nunchakus. Those aren't really things you can walk around town with and not turn a couple heads. That's like holding up a sign saying, 'I'm a SeeD!' Jeebus.


	4. Stars Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since people get bitchy if I don't mention it, there's a bit of citrus at the end of this chapter. No, I'm _not_ marking it. Yes, I suck. Shut up.
> 
> This chapter is heavy on the character and relationship development side, but I've given them a month for training and spending time in the same city. I considered skipping over everything and going, 'There was much levelling to be had and some smex on the side', but that sounded like a terrible idea. So you get the development instead. (I suppose it'll make the fic longer, if nothing else.)
> 
> The scene at the beginning of this chapter was sort of suggested by Shara. Especially the POV. I kinda like it. XD

Xu honestly wasn't certain what had happened. One afternoon, Headmaster Cid had just had a nervous breakdown in his office. He'd had nothing more stressful than any other day, no students or SeeD had received life-threatening injuries and no one had threatened to quit. He'd been a bit on edge for the days before that, admittedly, but when Xu had asked him if he was okay, he'd assured her that he was just fine.

Then, inexplicably, he'd had a nervous breakdown.

Three days later, she still wasn't certain what had happened, even after having gone over all the papers on his desk, trying to keep up with his load while he was in the infirmary. The only thing even the slightest bit unusual was a message from Cadet Leonhart simply saying, _"When a client named Rinoa Heartilly approaches you about a contract between SeeD and the Forest Owls, turn her down."_ Leonhart had up and vanished almost a week before that with Cadet Almasy and no one had any idea where they'd gone. Not that Leonhart was particularly friendly, anyway, and Almasy had already failed the SeeD exam twice, so maybe he'd just up and left. Finally.

But there was nothing unusual about a couple of cadets leaving for a few weeks, even if those two cadets were the only two gunblade specialists in the whole of SeeD and the Garden.

 _'Maybe that's what he's worried about,'_ Xu thought to herself, glancing at the message from Leonhart. _'Maybe he's afraid we're about to lose those two. I suppose it would be a loss – gunbladers are notoriously difficult to come by – but it's not like there are any missions that_ require _a gunblader, and Seifer is_ definitely _not cut out for SeeD. Leonhart...'_

Xu frowned. She didn't actually know much about Leonhart. He was quiet, but worked hard. He didn't have any friends and glared at anyone who dared to talk to him. The only person he had anything even _remotely_ like a relationship with was Seifer, and that was more of a violent and hate-filled rivalry than anything else. He wasn't much of a team player, by any means, and SeeD went out in teams. Losing him wouldn't be the end of the world.

The door slid open and Cid hurried in, apparently no longer under Dr Kadowaki's supervision – that, or the good doctor had been distracted and missed him fleeing. "Have we had any other messages from Squall?" he asked breathlessly, reaching for his message terminal.

 _'Squall? Oh, Cadet Leonhart.'_ Xu shook her head. "No, sir. Were you expecting something?"

Cid sagged, staring at his list of messages. "I... I was hoping... Oh, I hope..."

"Sir?" Xu asked, standing from behind the desk. The Headmaster looked like he was about to topple over.

"Without Squall, all will be lost," Cid whispered, looking up at her with broken eyes. "Don't you see? It's all lost. Everything is–"

The door snapped opened and Dr Kadowaki came barging in, face a storm cloud. "I did _not_ say you could leave the infirmary, Cid. You need to be in _bed_."

"We're all going to die!" Cid shouted at them. "Don't you see?!" He waved the message terminal around, as if it held all the proof he needed. "We're going to di–"

Dr Kadowaki darted forward at just the right moment and stuck him with a needle. The Headmaster collapsed immediately, unconscious. "You two," Kadowaki ordered a couple of curious SeeDs in the doorway, "carry the Headmaster down to the infirmary. Chop, chop." A glare later and they were running to do her bidding.

"Is he... going to be okay?" Xu wondered as she picked up the message terminal from where it had fallen when the Headmaster went down.

"He's overworked and clearly needs a holiday," Dr Kadowaki replied briskly, slipping the used needle into a coat pocket. "I'll contact his wife and see if she won't pick him up for a bit. You'll be taking over his duties?"

Xu nodded. "Erm, yes. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Just don't overwork yourself; we don't need to track down a second replacement." The doctor turned and stalked from the room, the door snicking shut behind her.

Xu looked back down at the message terminal, eyes drawn to the highlighted title of Leonhart's message. "Say no to the Forest Owls," she muttered to herself, deleting the message. "Will do, Leonhart." Tossing the terminal back in its cradle, she returned to the paperwork overfilling the desk; there were more important things to worry about than rogue cadets.

-0-

Sorceress magic and para-magic weren't all that different, all things considered, but there _was_ one fundamental difference between the two, Squall had discovered: Para-magic was a living entity on its own, rather like the GFs, but without the personalities, so it could be junctioned, but it never, really, became a _part_ of the caster. Sorceress magic, on the other hand, _was_ a part of the caster; it moved with the emotions of the caster and responded to their call far easier than para-magic.

Squall counted himself lucky that his own affinity for ice-based magic had turned the majority of his Sorceress magic ice-based, although there was some non-elemental magic in there, which had been Adel's speciality. Ice-based magic didn't get angry, it got _cold_. So when his temper flared, his magic cooled him down enough that he could think.

Seifer, however, didn't have that luxury. His Sorceress magic had taken the fire-based route, because of his affinity to the element. When he got angry, his magic simply added to it, so he just got angrier and angrier. He'd always had a problem with his temper, but it was so much worse, now, and Squall wasn't certain letting him near the Council was a good idea.

The Council had eventually called them back the next day. There were insults politely tossed back and forth about who was more worthless and Laguna had spent the entire ten minutes the two ex-cadets had been in there with his head in his hands.

Eventually, one of the Ministers had implied the wrong thing and Squall had noticed a flicker out of the corner of his eye. He managed to shove Seifer out of the Council Room and down an empty corridor before anyone else noticed the growing fireball in the other teen's hand, but that had still left him with an angry male Sorceress that had an affinity for fire.

So Squall, not knowing what else to do, had reached for the fireball and countered it with a ball of ice.

They hadn't gone back to the Council Room – Squall hadn't been about to chance it – and had headed for the library, instead. They'd both gone for books on Sorceresses and devoured everything they could until Laguna had come to see if they would return to the Council Room.

"No," Squall deadpanned before Seifer could even open his mouth. "Neither of us feel like standing there and smiling while we and our home is insulted." He glanced up at his father. "I don't have the patience, and Seifer doesn't have the temper for it. If we go back in there, someone's going to get hurt. I have no intentions of causing an international nightmare, so I'm just going to politely refuse to have anything to do with them."

"At least until they grow up," Seifer muttered, scowling a bit.

Laguna sighed at that and shook his head. "Okay. Why don't you two leave the city for a bit and kill some things. It might make you feel better?"

Seifer's eyes lit up at the prospect and Squall had to admit that it might be nice to get out of the city and see what all, exactly, they could accomplish with their new-found powers. "Okay. We can head out towards the plains."

"I'll go get Hyperion and Revolver!" Seifer called before dashing from the library.

Squall sighed and rubbed at his eyes before standing and starting to put their collection of books away.

Laguna leaned over and picked one of the books up. "Studying Sorceresses?"

"We want to know as much as we can before facing Ultimecia," Squall offered. "We weren't prepared, last time, and we almost lost. I'd like a better idea of what we're up against."

"That's acceptable," Laguna agreed, grabbing a few books and helping put them away.

Squall was quiet for a long moment before offering, "I'm sorry, about earlier. For just leaving without a word."

Laguna shook his head. "Seifer looked like he was seconds away from killing someone." His eyes slid towards Squall. "Or burning them to a crisp."

Squall tensed. _'Shit.'_

"That was unusually controlled, for para-magic," Laguna continued lightly, though his eyes were watching Squall a little too closely. "In fact, the only time I've seen a spell that controlled was when Adel hit Kiros with a small Flare."

Squall swallowed. "I suppose that explains why he's so afraid of ma–"

"Squall."

"Hey, Squall, Seifer asked m–" Ellone stopped at the edge of the bookcase, blinking at the father and son who were standing in silence, watching each other for the slightest hint of breaking. She cleared her throat. "Uncle Laguna, I thought you had meetings all day," she said in a rather good attempt at her normal cheerful tone.

Laguna looked away from Squall and offered Ellone one of his obnoxious grins. "Hi, Ellone! I got a small break from the meetings and thought I'd help Squall put these books away!"

Squall turned and shoved the books in his hands on the shelves. "Sis, you said something about Seifer?" he asked, carefully not looking at his father.

Ellone nodded, watching her brother with a faint frown. "Yeah, he had your gunblades. He said he was going to meet you by the main entrance."

Squall nodded. "I should go catch up to him, then. Thanks, Sis." He slipped past the other two and made for the door.

"Squall," Laguna called before the teen could leave the library, making him tense. "We don't have any meetings tomorrow; maybe you and I should talk a bit. Catch up, right?"

"Whatever," Squall managed before hurrying from the room and through the halls of the presidential palace.

When Squall reached Seifer just outside, the older teen gave him a worried look and Revolver, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Not here," Squall replied, eyeing some nearby guards and motioning for them to leave the area in front of the large building. "Do you want to train on the Esthar continent, or go outside?"

Seifer glanced at him with a frown. "Here's fine."

Squall nodded and, once they'd sat on one of the quick transports, set it for the car rental. They had to use Seifer's Garden account to pay for the car, since Squall's meagre funds had been depleted from travelling with Ellone and paying for all their supplies.

"I hope the Council works something out soon," Seifer commented neutrally as they climbed into the car. "We don't really have the gil to keep doing things without a job. Imagine how hard this would be without Laguna housing us." When he saw Squall tense out of the corner of his eye, he reached over and ensured the small emergency radio that came with the car was unhooked, then demanded, "What happened?"

Squall clenched his jaw and remained silent as he navigated the bright blue streets out of the city. Once in the open, he said, "Laguna saw your fireball. He can tell the difference between para-magic and real magic."

"Shit."

Squall shot a quick glance at Seifer's pale face, then added, "Your temper is going to get us caught."

Seifer opened his mouth to give the other teen an angry response, only to snap it shut when his mind caught up with him. "Hyne damn it." Because Squall was right, he _was_ going to get them caught.

They remained in silence for a long moment until Squall finally said, "We can try junctioning ice magic to you, or even find a copy of Shiva, if you think that will help."

Seifer grimaced at the thought. "I don't know..."

Squall sighed. "We need _something_ to help calm you down. Ice seemed to help this time–"

"I know, I know." Seifer rubbed tiredly at his face. "I don't like it, but it's worth a shot. Where would we get a copy of Shiva? Garden?"

Squall sighed at the thought of having to return to Garden for another Shiva, but there wasn't much choice.

 _'I will junction with him for now,'_ Shiva offered from the back of Squall's mind. _'I'm stronger than your average Shiva, anyway, so I'll have a better chance of calming him down.'_

Squall frowned, but admitted that they didn't have a lot of options. He put the car into park and held out his hand, where Shiva's miniature form appeared in crystal. "Shiva says she'll junction with you for now, and I can give you some of my high-level ice spells. Hyne knows I don't have much use for them right now."

"Yeah, I suppose." Seifer took Shiva and shuddered as she settled into the back of his mind, glowering at Ifrit. His magic _did_ seem calmer with her there, however, so he let it be. On the other hand, "Do you want Ifrit? I know you never went to the Fire Cavern, and I doubt you junctioned him before..."

Squall considered that. He didn't much care for the fire-elemental, never had, but he admitted that Ifrit probably wasn't helping Seifer's temper. "I'll take him."

They traded Ifrit and Squall stocked Seifer with his whole collection of Blizzaga as well as a handful of Blizzara that he hadn't bother to refine before they'd faced Ultimecia.

Properly stocked, the two gunbladers got out of the car and Squall locked it before dropping the keys into his pocket. "Let's see what we can do with our magic," he suggested.

Seifer grinned a bit madly and nodded, so they started off across the plains at an easy pace, gunblades securely strapped in place instead of in their hands.

They took down two Malboros in quick succession and any number of hopeful Mesmerizes. The magic came quick and easy to their hands and packed more of a punch than even the best para-magic equivalent.

"I suppose I can see why Sorceresses go mad for power," Seifer commented as he flicked a fireball at an approaching Mesmerize, burning it to a crisp in a matter of seconds. "This is distressingly easy. I'd hoped that the Malboros, at least, would have been a challenge."

"It doesn't help that fire and ice are a Malboro's weakness," Squall replied drily, stretching a bit.

"Still..." Seifer got rid of another Mesmerize and asked, "What are you going to do about Laguna?"

Squall sighed. "He wants to talk tomorrow. No Council meetings, or whatever. I don't know."

"You could tell him it's just me."

Squall glanced at Seifer, eyes grateful. "No. If I have to tell him anything, I'll tell him the truth. There's no point in me lying to him. Not about this." He paused, then added, "I've already set up a precedence for telling him the truth; it wouldn't be fair if I lied to him now."

Seifer nodded. "Whatever you end up doing, you have my support," he promised.

A very faint smile touched Squall's lips. "Thanks." He glanced at an incoming Malboro. "Gunblades?"

"Oh, I suppose..."

The following twenty minutes were spent in silence as they decimated the monsters of the plains with the ease of years of training. Having spent so many years training against each other, they knew each other's fighting styles in and out and there wasn't a single misstep in their dance, even when surrounded.

Eventually, though, the monsters stopped coming and the two made their way back to the car, sipping from water bottles Seifer had grabbed with their gunblades. "Maybe the Council can hire us to keep the continent monster-free."

Squall snorted. "It might terrify them too much to consider that we could."

"Oh crap!" Seifer exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "They can clear an entire plain in an hour? Get them out of the city before they kill someone!"

Squall snorted again, amusement dancing in his eyes. "I don't know. They might go straight for the firing squad."

"Like _that's_ going to stop us."

"Maybe they'll try something while we're sleeping..."

Seifer laughed. "Oh, I hope so. I'd love a reason to kill someone in my sleep."

"As long as you didn't set your room on fire in the process."

Seifer shot him a grin. "I'd have to call you to put it out."

"I am _not_ cleaning up your messes. No. Not happening." He narrowed his eyes when Seifer's grin just kept widening. "If you don't get rid of that creepy grin, I'm going to–"

"Freeze my balls off, yes, I know." Seifer snorted and looked towards the car. "And you wouldn't."

Squall set his water bottle on the roof of the car and tossed a thread of ice at Seifer's crotch, who countered with a fireball. A minor duel with magic started then, both of them tossing their element at the other.

After a couple of minutes, they had to stop and deal with the minor burns and strips of ice that had frozen on their clothing, Seifer laughing the whole time.

Squall looked up, smiling, when Seifer had finally started to calm down, and the older teen felt his breath catch. "You– ah, you smiled," he stuttered, his heart beating unusually fast. _'What the hell?'_

Squall blinked and the smile vanished. "Whatever."

Seifer took a deep breath and shook his head. "It's getting towards evening," he commented, looking up at the darkening sky instead of at his rival. _'What just happened?'_

Squall nodded and fished the keys from his pocket. "Come on, then," he said agreeably, unlocking the car.

They both got back into the car and Squall turned them back towards Esthar. Just as they re-entered the main city, he asked, "What is it?"

Seifer shook his head. "I don't know."

Squall glanced at the older teen's troubled expression and sighed. "I'm here."

Seifer smiled faintly. "I know. Thanks." He leaned forward and hooked the emergency radio back up. "You said something about some islands that're good for training?"

Squall nodded. "The Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell. Heaven is north-east of Esthar, Hell is to the far west of Galbadia. Heaven has a lot of Malboros and Ochus, as well as a couple Chimeras, which are _nasty_ if you're not packing Holy. Hell has T-Rexaurs and some dragons. There's also the Deep Sea Research Centre to the south. Bahamut and Eden are both there."

"I know you've got your talk with Laguna planned tomorrow, but maybe we could try one of those spots the day after?"

Squall clenched his hands on the wheel. _'Why not go right after the talk with Laguna?'_ he wondered.

 _'You're going to run away? From your own father?'_ Diablos mocked.

Squall tossed a mental icicle at his GF and smirked at his howl of pain. "We can go to Hell," he decided out loud while Diablos cursed him and the others all laughed. "I don't feel like facing off against Chimeras right now. Or in two days, even."

"Okay. Not the Research Centre?"

Squall shrugged. "That place is practically worse than both Heaven and Hell put together. I'd rather get some training in before going there, personally." He parked the car at the rental and climbed out. "Hungry?"

"You bet."

-0-

"You wished to speak with me?" Squall asked as he stepped into his father's office. He was relieved to see Laguna alone, for once, and vaguely recalled that the man had talked Kiros and Ward into showing Ellone, Seifer, Fujin and Raijin around the city.

Laguna sighed at the teen standing in the centre of his office, looking like he was about to salute. "I'm not your commanding officer, Squall," he commented.

Squall swallowed and kept his gaze out the window behind Laguna. "You're the President of Esth–"

"I'm your father," Laguna interrupted, a note of impatience in his voice. "I don't expect military perfection from my own soldiers, why would I expect it from you? Sit down."

Squall faltered, his stance loosening for just a moment before he dropped into the nearest chair, looking stressed.

Laguna sighed again. "Squall, what happened?" he asked gently.

Squall's jaw tightened for a moment, then he said, "Seifer and I are both Sorceresses. Sorcerers. Whatever."

Laguna considered the stormy eyes across from him, taking note of the fear and panic hidden in them, then offered, "It was Adel, wasn't it?"

Squall nodded, refusing to elaborate.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" he wondered. When Squall looked away, Laguna sighed again. "No, I suppose not."

"I... hadn't decided yet," Squall allowed, looking back at his father. "Seifer thought I should, but I didn't know and I've never had a parent before and I wasn't sure what you'd do or, or–" He snapped his mouth shut. _'Or if you'd abandon me for it.'_

"I'm not angry with you, Squall," Laguna offered, managing a smile for the teen. "I wish you'd just told me, but I'm not _angry_. Kiros had mentioned that none of you were sure what would happen to Adel's magic once she'd died, and we'd all wondered. But you came back without seeming any different, so we thought nothing had happened."

Squall shrugged. "When Rinoa became a Sorceress, it wasn't even obvious half the time. Unless she was actually _using_ her magic, she wasn't any different. Even when Ultimecia was possessing her, she didn't appear any different, not really."

Laguna nodded. "Adel was the only Sorceress any of us have ever had any experience with."

"I know. And she was sort of obvious. So was Ultimecia, really. And Matron, while she was possessed. I think... The magic can twist a person, if they're not careful, if they're not watching for it. It's..." He took a moment to chew his lower lip. "Have you ever used para-magic?"

"Once, just before we sealed Adel," Laguna answered, looking curious.

"Para-magic sort of sits there, in the back of your mind, but it's got its own thoughts, sort of," Squall tried to explain, frowning. "It only reacts when you call on it, when you actually _focus_ on it. But _real_ magic... It's a part of us." He touched his chest. "It... It reacts without you even having to think about it, without you even realising it's there, ready to be used. When you get angry, it's _there_ , waiting to be used, influencing you. It's not a problem for me, since I lean more towards ice magic, but Seifer is _fire_..."

"His magic just fuels his anger," Laguna realised. "We'll have to keep him away from the Council."

Squall nodded, looking tired. "I know. I gave him Shiva and some ice para-magic, which seems to be helping..." He shrugged. "Training helps, too. Back at Garden, when he was about to lose his temper – really lose it, I mean, not just turn into a bit of a bully – we'd spar and he'd calm down. Fujin and Raijin would sometimes come find me when Seifer was about to explode, once they realised I helped. It was..." He shook his head. "We've always calmed each other down, really."

Laguna cocked his head to one side. "That's what a Knight does," he pointed out.

Squall shot him a sharp look. "What are you implying?"

Laguna carefully said, "After Hyne, there has never been a male Sorceress – or Sorcerer, if you'd prefer – so I can't say what is or isn't true for the two of you. History, as you know, says that a Sorceress requires a Knight, to help protect her from those intent on persecuting her and to assist her in controlling her own powers."

"We're both capable of protecting ourselves," Squall announced, a biting edge to his tone.

"I'm not saying you're not," Laguna agreed, "but you just told me that you calm each other down, and that falls under the whole 'controlling the Sorceress' magic' clause." When Squall narrowed his eyes, Laguna hurried to add, "Maybe you don't think you need a Knight, Squall, and maybe being male will help you control the magic better, I don't know, but Seifer obviously needs one, and I'd prefer you had someone there, too."

Squall snapped his mouth shut and considered that, the concern in his father's voice catching him off guard. _'Become each other's Knights? Is that even_ possible _?'_

 _'Maybe,'_ rumbled Doomtrain. _'Sorceresses tend to be rather inclusive, and prefer not to share their power. Moreover, they often require a Knight for protection from others, which another Sorceress can't always provide.'_

 _'You do possess opposing elements,'_ Ifrit added, shifting behind Quezacotl when Squall's – and his magic's – attention shifted to him. _'You've already discovered that trading Shiva and myself helps, at least a little. Imagine how much control you would have over your own magic if an equally powerful opposing magic was there to help soothe it.'_

Laguna watched the faraway look in his son's eyes, wondering what in his mind was distracting the teen so. Perhaps he was considering his magic. Perhaps he'd already formed something of a bond with Seifer and hadn't wanted to mention it.

Squall's focus finally returned to Laguna. "I need to talk to Seifer," he decided. At Laguna's curious look, he grimaced and admitted, "I can communicate with my GFs, and Ifrit made a good point."

Laguna nodded, accepting that. "Tell me about Garden," he requested.

Squall blinked and his gaze flickered to the console to the left of Laguna's desk where flickering images of happenings from all over the globe were collected. "Don't you already know everything?"

Laguna smiled and shook his head. "I know what Garden is for and some of what it entails, but I don't know what it's like. I don't know what your own experiences were like, what friends you had, or what enemies. Did you have a favourite instructor, perhaps? A girlfriend?"

Squall blinked again, looking a little lost. "This is... I don't understand."

Laguna chuckled. "Squall, you're my son, and I've missed seventeen years of your life. I can't go back in time and fix that, but I'd like to know more about you. Will you tell me?"

Squall stared at him, startled, for a long moment, then relaxed back in his chair and started talking about the first time he'd used a gunblade. Laguna just smiled at him and settled in to listen, completely ignoring the pile of papers at his elbow that demanded his attention.

-0-

Squall didn't get a chance to talk to Seifer until everyone had already gone to bed. Laguna had distracted him until long after the others were back from their tour, and once Squall was freed, Ellone had kept him busy. After dinner they'd watched a few old films, which had been nice, but it hadn't given him the chance to speak with Seifer.

Finally, after the last door had fallen closed in the hallway, Squall slipped out of his own room and knocked lightly on Seifer's door.

Seifer slid his door open just enough to see out. Upon seeing Squall, he pulled the door open the rest of the way and motioned the younger teen inside. After closing the door, he commented, "I had wondered if you were going to come by."

Squall grunted and dropped onto the end of Seifer's bed. "Whatever."

Seifer snorted and sat near the head of his bed, twisting to face the other teen. "So? I assume, since we're not being experimented on, that it went fine?"

Squall sighed and nodded. "Yeah. He wasn't bothered or anything, at least. We talked about it for a bit and–" His eyes slid over to Seifer, who raised an eyebrow at the uncertain cast to Squall's expression. "–he suggested that we become each other's Knight."

Seifer's other eyebrow joined the one that was already raised. "Can you _do_ that? Be a Knight and a Sorceress, I mean."

Squall shrugged. "Fuck if I know. And even if they couldn't, what's to say _we_ can't?"

"We're hardly average," Seifer agreed, rubbing at his chin. "Well, it's worth a shot, I suppose. Not sure _how_ the connection forms, exactly..."

"With Rinoa, it just sort of happened," Squall volunteered. "We were standing by the flower field at the orphanage and I thought, 'I'll be her Knight' and then I was."

"You make it sound so simple," Seifer commented drily, rolling his eyes. "Did it feel like anything specific?"

Squall frowned the slightest bit. "It felt... sort of like she was there, next to me, even when we'd moved apart. Like she had this... this _presence_ , and after I became her Knight, it was always there, next to me..." He shook his head. "I don't know if that made any sense."

Seifer snickered. "It made perfect sense."

Squall shot him a disgusted look. "Don't mock me, Seifer."

Seifer shook his head. "I wasn't... Oh, whatever. So I just say, 'Squall, I'll be your Knight'?" he asked in an overly dramatic voice.

Squall glowered at him. "You're an ass."

"Come on, Squall. Play along."

"Play al–" Squall moved towards Seifer on the bed. "Don't you _dare_ treat this like some sort of game!"

"I'm _not_ ," Seifer insisted, shivering slightly. "Fuck, it's cold in here. Did you do something?"

Squall paused, poised over Seifer, and frowned. "Cold? It's really warm in here. Are you su...r... Oh."

Seifer frowned. "Oh? Oh, what? And stop looming!" He shoved at Squall's leg, only for the smaller teen to lose his balance and land in Seifer's lap.

They stared at each other for a long moment, surprised. Then, not even thinking about it, Squall leaned forward and pressed his lips against Seifer's. A jolt of energy lanced up his back and he gasped at the sensation, only for Seifer to take the opportunity and slip his tongue into Squall's mouth.

Seifer's hands slid up, under Squall's sleeveless tee and and brushed up the smaller teen's back, enjoying the feel of muscles shivering at his touch. He was more than used to kissing girls – had even taken a couple of them to bed – but there was something about wrapping your arms around someone who could so obviously take care of themselves.

Squall's legs slid under him and both teens moved to compensate, ending up with Squall nestled comfortably between Seifer's legs. Their crotches brushed, making them both moan, especially with their magic fizzling between them.

"Fuck," Seifer gasped, pulling away from Squall's mouth and groaning as the younger teen nipped at his jaw. "Fuck, Squall, fu– Ngh! Dammit, _wait_!" He grabbed Squall's hair and tugged his head back and away from his neck. "Slow _down_ , dammit."

Squall stared down at him for a moment, eyes dark and wild, before they got some of their grey colour back, the wildness calmed. "Fuck. Seifer, I'm so–"

Seifer tugged on Squall's hair, shutting him up. "I'm not saying _no_ , I'm just saying slow down," he hissed.

Squall's chest heaved and he disentangled one of his hands from Seifer's vest and reached up to cover the hand tugging his hair. "Okay. Can I–"

"Yeah, sorry." Seifer smoothed his hand in Squall's hair, no longer pulling, but not about to remove it from the brown locks. He'd always wondered if Squall put gel in it, since it remained in that shape even in the rain, but it was soft and un-gelled.

Squall slid down a bit, in a more comfortable position, and they both groaned as their crotches rubbed together again. "Ah, fuck," Squall whispered, resting his forehead against Seifer's chest. "Dammit."

Seifer closed his eyes and tried to get his breath back, fingers still tangled in Squall's hair. "It's our magic, isn't it?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I think so. We–" Squall choked on a laugh, "–we're Knights, I think. Your magic is really..." He flushed. "It's really hot..."

Seifer couldn't help but grin at that, and the hand that wasn't in Squall's hair moved to trace a line down Squall's back, making the other teen gasp and arch against him.

"S-stop that!" Squall ordered, breathless. "I can't...Fuck!" He moaned as Seifer stroked his back again. "D-damn you."

"You said my magic is hot," Seifer purred, stroking Squall's back again and earning himself another moan. "I can't help it if that turns me on."

When Seifer ran a hand along his back _again_ , Squall reached down and cupped the bulge in Seifer's trousers, earning him a strangled sound. Dark blue eyes leaned up to meet equally dark green ones. "You're an _ass_."

"Fuck. Not a whole...lot more tha...n a... Ican'tthink!" Seifer got out in a rush, pulling his hand out from under Squall's shirt in defeat.

Squall slid his hand around to rest on the outside of Seifer's thigh and dropped his head back against Seifer's chest. They both took a moment to just breathe.

Finally, Squall whispered, "I don't know what I'm doing."

"Neither do I," Seifer whispered back, running his hand through Squall's hair. "But it feels..."

"Right," Squall finished.

"Yeah." Seifer let out a heavy breath and lightly touched the back of Squall's neck, smiling at the shudder that caused. "Can we stop talking about this now?"

Squall leaned up and brushed their lips together once, gently, and whispered, "Yeah," before pressing their mouths together more insistently.

Seifer jerked his hips up and slid both hands under the back of Squall's tee, soothing over the lightly muscled back, damp with perspiration. Squall moaned in his mouth and arched against him again in response, one hand catching in Seifer's vest at the shoulder while the other tightened on Seifer's thigh.

They developed a stuttering rhythm of rocking against one another while Seifer played Squall's back like the strings of a puppet, pulling moans and gasps from him that Seifer swallowed down. During it all, Squall flexed his hand against Seifer's thigh, ice magic occasionally seeping though his fingers and Seifer's trousers to make him jerk in surprise and let out his own moan into Squall's mouth.

Squall pulled away from Seifer's mouth as he came, head tossed back and eyes clenched tight. Seifer drank in the sight for only a moment before his own eyes slid closed and he rode out his own orgasm, gasping profanities.

Squall fell back against Seifer and nuzzled his chest, drowsy and content. The hand that had been holding Seifer's thigh reached up and soothed over Seifer's chest, making the larger teen groan at the ice magic still seeping through his fingers.

"Squall, please," he whispered.

The ice faded. "Sorry. Didn't even realise..."

Seifer wrapped his arms around the other teen's waist and leaned up just enough to nuzzle his hair. "We can't sleep in these clothes," he murmured. "Unless you want to be crusty tomorrow."

Squall grimaced. "These are my only clothes," he complained before gently extracting himself from Seifer's hold.

Seifer snorted and watched as Squall shimmied out of his leather trousers. "Take it up with Laguna; I'm sure he'd be thrilled to buy you a new wardrobe."

"As long as it's not made up of Estharian robes," Squall muttered before disappearing into Seifer's en suite bathroom.

Seifer had thought to ask Fujin to bring him his extra changes of clothing, so he wasn't worried about how dirty his outfit was at the moment. His trousers and pants were tossed in a pile near the bathroom, while his vest was dropped into the chair in the far corner of the room, covering his coat. He pulled out a couple pairs of sleep trousers from his things and slipped one pair on before walking over to the bathroom door and knocking lightly. When Squall opened the door a crack, he held up the trousers and offered, "They're probably a bit big, but..."

Squall's eyes smiled as he took the offered clothing. "Thanks. I'll be out in a minute." Then the door slid closed again.

Seifer returned to his bed and slipped under the covers, taking a moment to sort out his pillows so Squall would have one too – Seifer knew he was a pillow-hog, and if he didn't ensure _now_ that Squall had his own pillow, the younger teen would lose it as soon as they were both asleep.

Squall exited the bathroom after another couple minutes and stood in the doorway for a long moment, uncertain.

"Get in," Seifer ordered, pointing at the empty spot next to him.

Squall padded over and climbed under the covers. He tensed when Seifer draped an arm over his waist, but made himself relax when nothing more happened. "Good night," he whispered.

Seifer leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to one bare shoulder, murmuring, "Good night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG. That was kind of fun and exciting to write. And the cats and Shara kept helpfully distracting me before I could get too stressed. (I don't know what it is, but writing citrus – even a tiny lime – sort of stresses me out a bit, any more. Used to type them up all the time, now I avoid them if I can help it. But, mmm, wanted to write one for this piece. Maybe I'll write a proper lemon later, dunno.)


	5. Stars Shedding Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Shivani pointed it out: I know Julia died when Rinoa was five, but it worked so much _better_ this way. XD

Seifer woke with the very strange sense that he was holding something both freezing cold and warm. It took him a moment to recognise the birds nest buried against his chest as the top of Squall's head, but once he'd placed that, the differing sensations made a lot more sense. Squall, himself, was warm, but his magic was resting over him like a second skin, and it was cold.

Seifer smiled in memory at what had happened the night before. It had been completely unexpected, and yet it seemed somehow... right, like Squall had said. Like the world had been waiting for them to come together, just like that.

Their magic certainly seemed to approve, if nothing else. His fire magic was quite happily curled around both himself and Squall, keeping them warm in spite of Squall's own ice magic. It was the calmest Seifer's magic had been since he'd received it, and he wasn't completely certain if that was because _he_ was calm, or if it was because Squall was there to help balance it.

"Nnn..." Squall shifted and Seifer shivered as the smaller teen breathed out against his chest. Sleepy grey eyes blinked up at him from beyond the brown mess atop his head. "Mmm...Seifer?"

"Good morning," Seifer whispered, not wanting to break the peaceful moment.

"Mornin'," Squall murmured, burying his face back against Seifer's chest.

Seifer smiled a bit more at that and tightened his arm around Squall's waist, happy to rest for a bit longer.

Squall managed to doze for another ten minutes before his mind finally woke him, already sorting through everything they were intending to do that day. "We were gonna go to Hell," he muttered against Seifer's chest, blearily blinking at it. _'He's really toned...'_

"We don't have to," Seifer replied quietly.

Squall shook his head and pushed away enough to look up at Seifer, who was watching him with a faint smile. "We do," he insisted.

Seifer sighed. "I suppose. But, first, we should figure out your clothing situation."

Squall made a face. "I'm fine with what I've got."

"Squall, you have _one_ set of clothing. It's going to need to be cleaned eventually, not to mention, it's probably going to be destroyed if we're off hunting down monsters left and right."

Squall was silent for a long moment before he looked off to one side and admitted, "I was A-Level, when we went to fight Ultimecia."

Seifer sucked in a breath at that; A-Level was the highest SeeD rank, and he'd never doubted that Squall was good, but there was a difference between assuming that someone was a really good fighter and hearing proof that they were, in fact, the top of the list. There was only one A-Level at the moment, and she was so busy running missions that Seifer had only glimpsed her once in the two years that she'd had that title.

"I'm not used to... I always had money, before. Plenty of it. Too much, even." Squall leaned forward, resting his head against Seifer's chest again. "I don't like asking others for money."

Seifer sighed, understanding the sentiment, even though he knew it was unrealistic in their current situation. "Squall, Laguna's your _dad_. He's going to want to spend money on you, especially if he's got anywhere near as much money as you did before, and he probably does. He doesn't have to pay rent or food or any of that, so all that money he's being paid to smile and sit behind a desk all day is just piling up, going nowhere. _Let_ him spoil you; that's what parents do."

Squall clenched his eyes shut, fighting with himself. Money was one of those things he hadn't really thought about until he no longer had any. Before, he never would have been required to ask _anyone_ for money, _especially_ not Laguna, but now...

"If you're not comfortable _asking_ for it, then just mention that you don't really have any clothing and he'll handle it," Seifer suggested. "And if it's still bothering you once the Council gets their heads out of their collective asses, you can try paying him back, though I guarantee he won't take it."

Squall considered that, absently tracing an old scar on Seifer's abdomen. "Maybe."

Seifer moved his hand from Squall's waist to capture the hand on his stomach. "That tickles."

Squall flashed him a rare smile, then rolled out of bed, only stumbling a little once he was standing. "Come on," he said to Seifer's pout, "I'm hungry, and I still need to collect my jacket and boots from my room."

Seifer sighed and sat up, pausing to watch Squall stalk into the bathroom and close the door, Seifer's sleep trousers riding dangerously low on the narrow hips. With another sigh, he got out of bed and hunted down some fresh clothing. He considered waiting until Squall was done to take a shower – or just walking right in – but decided against it. They were going to go out and kill things today, so there wasn't much sense in showering now. He could wait until they returned and shower before dinner.

Squall, evidently, had the same idea, because he came out looking as sleep mussed as he had going in, though he'd splashed some water on his face. "I'll meet you in the dining room," he announced, heading for the door.

"Wait, wait," Seifer ordered, placing a hand against the door before Squall could open it. When the shorter teen scowled up at him, Seifer leaned over and, cupping Squall's chin with his free hand, drew him into a long kiss. When he pulled back, Squall looked a little dazed. "There you go."

Squall shook his head. "What was that for?" he demanded, eyes bight with happiness in spite of his quasi-scowl.

"It's called a kiss, Squall," Seifer informed him patiently. "People exchange it to show their mutual attraction to one another, especially when one is leaving or just returned from somewhere."

Squall raised an eyebrow, then grabbed a fistful of Seifer's vest and dragged him down the ten centimetres or so separating them and returned the kiss with a great deal more force than Seifer had employed. When he let Seifer go, there was a distinct smug gleam in his eyes as he announced, "I'll meet you in the dining room," and slipped from the room.

Seifer chuckled to himself and grabbed his boots to slip them on. "Cheeky little bastard."

-0-

Squall did, with much reluctance and prodding from Seifer, mention his lack of clothing to Laguna over breakfast.

"We can go by one or two of the clothing shops down town," Laguna suggested.

"Do they sell anything but _robes_ there?" Seifer wondered drily.

"Some of them, sure."

"What about leather?" Squall asked, eyes narrowed.

Laguna blinked at that question, then turned to Kiros. "I have no..."

"They don't," Kiros replied. "Estharians don't believe in wearing animals."

"More the pity," Seifer decided, shrugging. "Well, I suppose we could always take the Ragnarok outside Esthar and go shopping in Deling, or wherever."

Laguna frowned. "I have meetings all day–"

"Fuck the Council," Seifer declared. "The lot of them need to get those sticks out of their asses, anyway. I think you should stand them up and play hooky with us naughty Garden kids."

Squall snorted while everyone else around the table looked at Seifer like he'd lost his mind.

"What? What did I say?" Seifer wondered, looking at Squall.

Squall snorted again and very firmly focussed his eyes on his porridge.

Seifer looked over towards Laguna, who was chuckling. "You're suggesting we give the Council the impression that you are, in fact, bad examples?"

"I haven't been denying that," Seifer declared, "and I'm pretty sure all those pretty words Squall likes to spout weren't saying any differently, either."

"Pretty words?" Raijin interrupted, giving Seifer a disbelieving look.

Seifer grinned. "Not only did Squall suddenly grow a sense of humour one night, he also managed to learn some diplomacy skills."

"I _had_ diplomacy skills," Squall informed him. "Unlike _some people_ who _failed_ that class."

"Three times, ya know," Raijin agreed.

"Traitor!" Seifer hissed, tossing a napkin at his friend. "And it was only twice."

"You _bribed_ the professor the third time, ya know."

"Really?" Squall perked up at that. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you, Ice Queen, are not as awesome as I am."

Squall shot the older teen an unimpressed look. "Call me that again and I'll shoot a Blizzard at your favourite part of your anatomy."

"My nose?"

Squall stared at him.

Laguna chuckled and shook his head down the table. "Kiros, are you okay handling the Council for the afternoon? It _would_ be nice to get out of the palace. For once."

Kiros sighed. "Yes, I should be fine. What sort of excuse am I giving them?"

"Mmm... Tell them I'm spending time with my son. That should shut them up."

Seifer glanced at his posse and asked, "What about you two? Coming?"

Fujin and Raijin traded looks before both shaking their heads, Fujin announcing, "EXPLORING!"

"Fuu and I wanted to get a proper feel for the city, ya know. See if we can't find our own little niche."

Seifer nodded in understanding. "Okay, then. I won't stop you, if that's what you want." He received two grateful smiles in response.

"Sis?" Squall quietly asked of Ellone while Seifer was sorting out his friends.

Ellone nibbled on her bottom lip in indecision for a long moment before saying, "I would like to get out of the city, but it's not really safe for me–"

"You say that like you think we won't protect you," Squall interrupted.

Ellone shook her head. "Even from the White SeeD? They're going to be looking for me."

"And if we run into them, we'll explain that you're being protected by us," Squall insisted.

"And if they want a fight, Squall and I can take them," Seifer announced, dropping an arm around Squall's shoulder and grinning at Ellone from behind the slighter gunblader.

Squall's left eyebrow twitched, but he calmly stated, "You let us worry about the White SeeD, Sis, if we even run into each other. I'm just asking if you want to get out of the city and go shopping with us."

Ellone considered that, glancing down the table at Laguna, who smiled at her. "Okay," she decided, smiling back before turning to Seifer and Squall. "Yeah, let's go out together, then."

"Excellent!" Laguna clapped Kiros on the shoulder as he jumped to his feet. "Kiros, Ward, I leave everything in your capable hands! Let's go play hooky!"

Kiros and Squall let out similar sighs while the others laughed.

With Laguna's urging, Seifer, Squall and Ellone eventually got up and they all returned to their rooms long enough for the males to collect their weapons and Ellone to find her shawl, which she didn't wear around the palace.

"The Council's going to _love_ that we've got you carrying around a weapon," Seifer commented to Laguna as they met up by the palace exit.

"I _do_ occasionally get some training in," Laguna replied with a smile, patting his gun. "It makes them a bit nervous, but since I was elected for winning a war, they make do."

"Hm." They all settled onto the transport and glided out onto the main street.

As soon as they were up and heading out, a handful of guards fell in around them, making the two ex-cadets frown, though they didn't complain. Laguna just looked a bit resigned, but when they reached the Airstation, he gave the highest ranked officer a stern look and said, "You won't be required to follow us any further, Major."

The major shifted, nervously eyeing the two gunbladers. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't think it's wise to let you alone with–"

"My son?" Laguna suggested, amused.

The major flushed and glanced at the two teens, earning him an unimpressed look from Squall and a smirk from Seifer. "Uh, well, no, sir, but..."

Laguna chuckled and dropped a friendly hand on the soldier's shoulder. "Your concern is appreciated, Major, but unnecessary." Then he turned to the three behind him. "Shall we? Which ship are we taking? The Ragnarok? Can we take the Ragnarok?"

"We can take whichever one you want," Seifer replied agreeably as they left the group of guards in their dust. "What's with the infatuation with the Ragnarok, anyway?"

"I like the name," Laguna explained, nodding politely to the members of the Airstation staff who waved at him or called his name.

"You are disturbingly popular," Seifer noted.

"He defeated Adel," Squall pointed out drily. "Even the people of Esthar were sick of her."

Squall hit the hanger door controls when they reached the Ragnarok and everyone climbed aboard, Ellone looking around with a smile while Laguna bounced a bit.

Up in the cockpit, Squall slid into the pilot's chair while Seifer took the co-pilot chair and the other two hunted down their own seats. "Airstation, this is Ragnarok, requesting permission for take-off," Squall called, flipping on the radio and checking through the controls.

_"Ragnarok, this is the Airstation. You are clear for take-off."_

Squall nodded and hit the engines.

_"Take good care of our President up there, you hear?"_

Laguna snorted from his seat behind Squall's chair.

"Understood," Squall agreed drily before slowly lifting them from the landing pad, manoeuvring them around the Qiyamah and Armageddon with what seemed like practised ease.

Seifer turned his seat to face the other two as Squall concentrated on gaining enough altitude to get over the OCS and mountains. "So, where are we headed? There's Balamb–"

"No," Squall immediately refused. "If there's one place we're almost certain to run into the White SeeD, it's there."

"Does that mean Dollet's out, too?" Ellone wondered. "It's a coastal town, and I know we docked there, once or twice."

"That leaves Deling and Timber," Seifer decided.

"Not. Timber," Squall ground out.

"Afraid of running into the ex?" Seifer teased.

Squall shot him a look out of the corner of his eye, smoothly turning them towards Deling. "Do you _really_ want to run into Rinoa?"

Seifer winced, imagining the girl clinging to him as soon as she recognised him. "Ah, no. No, I really don't."

Squall nodded. "Thought not." He set the auto-pilot, then leaned around to look at the two passengers. "Any problems with Deling?"

"It would be nice to see my old stomping grounds, I suppose," Laguna replied, shaking his head.

" 'Stomping grounds'?" Seifer wondered.

"Laguna was in the Galbadian army during the Sorceress War," Squall explained, turning his chair away from the controls since he didn't need to change them.

"How'd you know that?" Laguna wondered. "Did you research me when I wasn't looking?"

Squall snorted and shook his head. "Before, Sis sent me and some of my friends back to you, Kiros and Ward in the past." A sly look entered his eyes, though his expression remained neutral. "I know all about your crush on Julia, for example."

Laguna jerked in his seat. "Wha–! That was–! It–"

Squall snorted, amused, while the other two laughed at Laguna's expense.

Laguna sputtered for a moment, then choked, "I'm not going to go _looking_ for her!"

Squall nodded. "It would hardly matter; she died three years ago when a particularly nasty strain of the flu was going around Deling." He shrugged at the other's surprised looks. "Rinoa told me; Julia was her mother."

Laguna's eyes lit with recognition. "That's right, you mentioned that her last name was Heartilly. She didn't take her father's name?"

"Rinoa _hates_ her father," Seifer offered. "That, and he's a general of the Galbadian army and she's a member of a resistance faction in Timber. I think she took her mom's maiden name to both cut all ties with him, and to protect him from any potential political back-lash." He glanced at Squall, who shrugged and nodded.

"Small world, though," Laguna commented, smiling. "Seifer, you dated the daughter of my old crush."

"So did Squall," Seifer insisted. "Didn't you?"

Squall shrugged again. "Not officially, but, sure. I was her Knight, and if I hadn't got stuck in Time Compression, we probably would have ended up together."

Laguna perked up at that and he glanced between the two teens at the head of the ship. "That reminds me, whatever happened about that thing we talked about yesterday, Squall?"

Squall and Seifer traded looks, Seifer flicking his gaze quickly towards Ellone in question. Squall grimaced faintly, but nodded, so Seifer turned to Ellone and announced, "When we destroyed Adel's Tomb we sort of... ended up with her powers."

Ellone blinked. "Oh." She turned to Laguna. "Is that even possible?"

Laguna shrugged. "Apparently." He looked back at his son. "Was that a yes?"

Squall grimaced again. "Yeah." He waved his hand between himself and Seifer. "We're Knights."

Seifer leaned over and draped an arm over Squall's shoulder. "Are we ever," he agreed, waggling his eyebrows.

Squall casually formed a ball of ice in one hand and held in up to Seifer's face. "Your nose, you said?"

Seifer removed himself with all due haste and slipped back into his chair. "I'll behave!" he promised while Laguna and Ellone laughed at them.

"No you won't," Squall deadpanned, turning his chair back around. "We're about ten minutes out from Deling. I'm not sure I want to park particularly close to the city, but there's a tomb where a GF resides a little to the east. Does anyone have any complaints about walking?" He glanced over his shoulder at Ellone, specifically.

Ellone shook her head. "I'll be fine."

Nodding, Squall turned off the auto-pilot and turned them towards the Tomb of the Unknown King. "Seifer, can you let me know when we're above the tomb?" he asked, motioning to the radar in front of the other teen. "I'd rather wait to leave the cloud cover until we're well out of range of the city."

Seifer turned his own chair and pulled up a map on another screen to help him judge where, exactly, they were. He knew the general layout of Galbadia – learning the layouts of the various countries had been a part of their training – but he'd only been to this side of the continent once, and it was years ago. "You're going a bit too far north."

With Seifer navigating, they were able to land outside the Tomb without a hitch. They all made their way down to the hanger, Laguna saying, "If you two wanted to take a run through this tomb, Elle and I will be fine on the ship."

Seifer turned to Squall with a raised eyebrow and the shorter teen shrugged. "You're sure it'll be okay?" Squall asked the eldest two.

"We'll be _fine_ ," Laguna assured him, Ellone nodding at his side.

"Okay. We'll be back in ten minutes." Squall led the way outside, Seifer hurrying to follow him. They managed the labyrinth easily enough, with Squall's memories of the place, and the monsters were ridiculously easy. They didn't bother with their real weapons until they faced off against Sacred and Minotaur together, and even then they probably hadn't needed to, but they'd agreed it was sort of like cheating if they faced the GFs with their magic.

Seifer junctioned Brothers on their way out, Squall having waved the GF away. Back at Ragnarok, they found Ellone and Laguna playing Go Fish, Laguna's machine gun just within reach. There were a couple Geezard carcasses laying around the end of the ramp and Seifer idly flicked a fireball at them to reduce them to ash.

"Ready to go?" Laguna asked, getting to his feet while Ellone picked up the cards and slipped them into a pocket.

"We are," Squall agreed, reaching up to help Ellone down, who smiled at him.

Once everyone was clear, Seifer hit the door control and they made their way to the city. There, Squall suffered himself to be led around to various shops, occasionally making threatening gestures at Seifer when the older teen suggested something for Squall to try on. Laguna and Ellone seemed to think that Squall's wardrobe was too monochrome, so they would occasionally pull out something with a bright colour and he would have to glare them down, which only worked about half the time, much to Seifer's unending amusement.

Squall was attempting to glare Laguna down for the umpteenth time when they heard Ellone call, "Irvy!"

"Sis?" Irvine's voice wondered, shocked.

Squall, completely forgetting about Laguna, started towards their voices, hoping Seifer wasn't...

"Well, if it isn't the Little Miss," Seifer added teasingly.

_'Damn.'_

"I'm gonna shoot ya where the sun don't shine, you bastard," Irvine snapped.

Squall took that as his cue to get between the two of them before violence actually broke out. "Seifer, I told you _not_ to call him that," he snapped before turning to the cowboy, eyes shining with a smile. "Hello, Irvine."

Irvine grinned. "Hello there, Squall. Fancy meetin' you lot in Deling." His eyes flickered up towards a smirking Seifer. "Though why you're travellin' with that bastard is beyond me."

"They wouldn't take him back when I asked for a refund," Squall deadpanned.

Irvine burst out laughing while Seifer shoved Squall's shoulder. "I'll _force_ you into the shirt Elle found for you," Seifer threatened.

Squall glanced over at a smiling Ellone, who was holding the most terrifying orange shirt yet, and grimaced. "Sis, _please_."

"You wear too much black," Ellone informed him.

"I _like_ black. It doesn't show stains."

Ellone considered him. "Maybe something blue..." she decided before offering a wave at Irvine and disappearing back into the racks.

Squall dropped his face into his hands and moaned.

Chuckling, Irvine asked. "Clothes shopping?" When Squall nodded helplessly, the cowboy shrugged. "Good luck."

"Thanks _so_ much." Squall glared at him.

"Hey, where’s Laguna?" Seifer wondered, glancing around.

"I left him back there with some purple and pink trousers," Squall replied, waving his hand in the general direction he'd come from. As Seifer laughed, he turned to Irvine and asked, "How have you been?"

Irvine grinned, looping his thumbs through his belt loops. "Been pretty good. My adopted parents are real nice folks, but I don't see much of them any more. I attend Galbadia Garden, now. My father's in the army and he's hoping I'll follow in his footsteps."

Squall blinked a few times, realising he'd never asked, in his last life, what Irvine had been up to since getting adopted. He hadn't asked any of them, though he'd met Zell's adopted mom and Quistis had said that her new home hadn't worked out... _'I wonder what Selphie's adopted parents were like. They must be from Trabia, for her to have ended up there.'_

"What about you two?" Irvine wondered. "Clearly, you found each other. And Sis." He shot Squall a knowing look.

Squall scowled at him. "Shut up, Irvine."

Seifer snorted. "Squall and I never got adopted. We ended up at Balamb Garden together." He paused, then added, "Quistis and Chicken-wuss are there, too."

Irvine coughed. "He still lets you get away with that?"

"He throws a spectacular fit every time Seifer does it, but he isn't quite daring enough to make him stop," Squall announced drily. "Sis has been travelling with Matron since she left. She happened to be at Garden a couple weeks ago and I, ah, sort of kidnapped her–" Irvine burst out laughing. "Shut up."

Seifer snickered and reached out to mess with Squall's hair, side-stepping the knife Squall threatened him with in retaliation. "Squall and I sort of quit Garden," he offered to Irvine, who was shaking his head at the two of them. "We're staying with Squall's birth father in Esthar."

"You found one of your birth parents?" Irvine wondered, surprised. "How's that feel?"

"It's taken some getting used to," Squall replied drily. "It doesn't help that the Estharian Council doesn't like us."

"We're Garden," Seifer explained when Irvine frowned.

"Ah. Yeah, that would do it."

"They're just afraid you'll kill someone if you get bored," Laguna commented as Ellone brought him over to join them. He held out a hand to Irvine, offering, "President Laguna Loire of Esthar."

Irvine returned the handshake with an awed expression. "Irvine Kinneas. You're, like, in charge of Esthar? Seriously?"

Laguna smiled absently. "I'm just the pretty face who signs the paperwork. The Council makes all the decisions."

Irvine gave Squall and Seifer a disbelieving look, silently asking, 'Is this guy for real?'

Squall and Seifer nodded solemnly.

Ellone clapped her hands together, excited. "I know! Irvy, why don't you come have lunch with us!"

"I don't know..." Irvine murmured, eyeing the gleam in Seifer's eyes warily.

"Oh, come on, Little Miss–"

Irvine had barely touched the butt of Valiant, his gun, when Squall had spun and held an icy knife against the crotch of Seifer's trousers. Seifer's hands immediately went up in surrender and they took and moment to stare each other down, Squall's gaze icy while fire danced in the irises of Seifer's eyes.

After almost a minute of silence, Seifer nodded and Squall backed off, slipping his knife away. "Sorry, Irvine," Seifer offered.

Irvine raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Don't worry about it. You two never made SeeD? Seriously?"

"Seifer doesn't take orders well, and I never cared to take the exam," Squall answered absently as he turned to his father and sister, both of whom had been watching the altercation with worried frowns; if anyone knew how dangerous it would be for Seifer and Squall to actually get into a fight in the middle of a city, it was Laguna, who had fought against Adel. "Does this mean we're done with the shopping?" Squall asked, just barely refraining from pleading.

"Just one more shirt!" Ellone insisted.

Squall rubbed wearily at the bridge of his nose. "...Whatever."

Ellone pressed her lips together and held out the shirt she'd been holding behind her back. "Here! It's Griever!" she declared.

Squall looked up at it, only for the blood to drain from his face. It was, indeed, Griever; Ultimecia's Griever. He turned and hurried from the shop, feeling sick.

Back in the shop, Ellone looked hurt while the others looked worried. "But he _loves_ Griever," she whispered.

Seifer shuddered at Squall's magic, which was writhing against his skin unpleasantly. "I doubt it was you, Elle. I'll go talk to him, okay?" He glanced up at Laguna. "We'll meet you at that café."

"Go on." Laguna waved him off, moving to hug Ellone.

Irvine reached out to stop Seifer. "Do you want–"

"Stay with Elle and Laguna," Seifer ordered, voice sharp. "If you go after Squall, you'll only end up hurt." Then he turned and hurried after the other teen, trusting Squall's magic to lead him in the right direction.

Seifer found Squall not far outside the city limits, emptying the contents of his stomach behind a shrub. When Seifer approached, icicles formed in the air and rushed towards him, warning him away. He waved fireballs at the ice and knelt next to the other teen, resting a hand on his back. "Hey."

Squall turned and buried his face in Seifer's chest, his magic desperate and terrified.

Seifer left his own magic to handle Squall's and focussed on the teen leaning against him, wrapping his arms around Squall's back. "Squall," he whispered, "I'm here. You're safe. You're okay."

It took a moment, but Squall started to calm down, his magic relaxing against Seifer's own. When he spoke, his voice was ragged, "Ultimecia summoned Griever. That Griever, the one on the shirt, not my–" His hand grasped at the pendant he always wore. "Not my Griever. And it, it almost killed Irvine. It–" He choked and gripped both hands in the edges of Seifer's coat. "It flew, and Irvine and Rinoa were the only ones who could hit it, so we left it to them. And by the time Rinoa's shouting caught our attention, it had Irvine and he was limp and–"

Seifer closed his eyes and tightened his arms around Squall. _'No wonder.'_ Sometimes, it was all too easy to forget that Squall had memories of a war that Seifer couldn't even _begin_ to imagine.

"...I thought he was dead," Squall whispered.

"He's not dead," Seifer insisted, reaching down and lifting Squall's head so he could meet the broken grey eyes. "We were just speaking to him, remember? I called him 'Little Miss' and he threatened to shoot me. And he told us about how his adopted father is in the army and wants him to follow in his footsteps."

Squall nodded, his eyes clearing. "Irvine's okay," he whispered.

"Irvine's just fine. And this Irvine has never even _seen_ that Griever. This Irvine doesn't even know who Ultimecia is."

Squall nodded again, his hands dropping away from Seifer's coat and moving to pull out a bottle of water for him to rinse his mouth with. "Yeah. I... Is Sis okay?" His brows furrowed with concern.

"Elle is fine," Seifer assured him. "I left her with Laguna and Irvine. They're going to meet us at that café we passed this morning, on the way into town. The one with the cake that Elle wanted to try."

Squall spat out his mouthful of water and pulled away to stand. "We should go, then," he decided.

"Hey." Seifer stood and grabbed Squall's hand, refusing to let him go until the younger teen looked at him. "You okay?"

"I'm fi–" Squall's mouth snapped shut at Seifer's raised eyebrow and he silently cursed his magic for giving him away; it was still churning inside of him, not quite recovered from the shock and memories. "I'll _be_ fine," he amended. "I'm... I should be okay to go back into the city." He winced at that, because he could very well have killed someone with his magic. If anyone other than Seifer had come after him...

Seifer cupped Squall's face in his hands and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead. "Look at me, Squall. Deep breaths."

Squall realised that he was breathing hard, panicking at the thought of hurting someone, and he took a deep breath, focussing on the calm green eyes staring down at him. _'Seifer wouldn't have let me hurt anyone. That's what he's here for.'_

"Better?"

Squall nodded. "Yeah."

Seifer leaned down and kissed him properly, in spite of the faint aftertaste of vomit, smiling when Squall kissed him back, hands grabbing at his coat again. "Ready to go back?" he whispered.

"Yeah." Squall pulled away, smoothing out the creases he'd made in Seifer's coat. "I should apologise to Sis."

Seifer shrugged, turning back towards the city. "She's a big girl."

Squall fell into step with Seifer, huffing. "That doesn't mean she doesn't deserve an apology. Jerk."

"Diplomat."

"Fuck no. Little brother."

Seifer laughed. "I suppose." He started when he felt something brush against his hand and looked down to find Squall's hand unusually close to his. The shorter teen was determinedly looking towards the city and Seifer smiled as he took Squall's hand in his. "I'm not leaving," he commented.

"I know _that_. Idiot," Squall snapped back, even as his fingers slipped comfortably between Seifer's.

"Not even if you attack me with icicles again."

"I did no such thing!"

"Your magic did."

"You can't hold me responsible for something it did without my consent."

"Sure I can."

"Don't make me freeze your balls off," Squall threatened, his eyes sharp with his usual temperament.

Seifer just grinned at him and squeezed the hand in his. "There's the café," he pointed out.

Squall seemed to consider that for a minute, eyes flickering towards their hands, before tightening his grip once and speeding up a bit, dragging Seifer behind him. As soon as they reached the others, who had chosen a table outside, Squall gave Ellone a half-hug, startling her. "Sorry, Sis. I didn't mean to run off like that."

Ellone smiled up at him. "Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Have you ordered yet?" Squall asked, slipping into the open seat between Ellone and Irvine, hand dropping from Seifer's.

Seifer rested his hand on Squall's shoulder for a second while Ellone rattled off some of the options from the menu, then moved and sat on Ellone's other side, next to Laguna.

"How is he?" Laguna whispered.

Seifer shrugged. "He should be okay. We might want to cut the shopping trip short, though."

Laguna sighed and nodded. "I had figured as much." Then his eyes sharpened and he gave Seifer an assessing look. "Do I need to be an overbearing father?"

Seifer snorted. "Do you _really_ want to suggest that Squall can't make his own relationship choices?"

"Hmm..." Laguna looked over at where Ellone and Squall were listening to Irvine expound on the deliciousness of something the café sold. Squall looked a little more tired than he had earlier, but there was a definite gleam of amusement in the blue-grey eyes. "Just use your discretion," he suggested. "Elle, Kiros, Ward and I won't care, but there are members of the Council who will, and you two already have more than enough enemies there."

"You don't have to tell _me_ that," Seifer muttered, scowling faintly. "Pricks."

"Seifer, do you know what you want?" Ellone asked, turning to look at him.

Seifer blinked and looked up at the food list on the inside wall. "Erm..."

"What were you two whispering about, anyway?" Irvine wondered, looking only a little suspicious.

"The Council," Laguna sighed.

"And how far up their asses those sticks go," Seifer responded, still trying to read the list.

Squall snorted and held out a laminated sheet with the menu on it. "Idiot."

Seifer grinned as he took the sheet. "Right. Give me a minute..."

Once Seifer had decided, Irvine went in to give their orders. They kept their conversation light both before the food got there and during the meal, trading stories about the two Gardens while Ellone offered up a couple of stories about Matron and the White SeeDs. Squall also mentioned that Selphie was at Trabia Garden, which seemed to perk Irvine right up.

When Laguna had paid the bill – waving away Irvine's money with a grin – they traded message service names and went their separate ways. Seifer and Squall ended up dropping off Laguna and Ellone back in Esthar before Squall flew them out to the Island Closest to Hell to get some training in.

That night, after dinner, Squall paused outside his own room, hand on the doorknob, for a long moment before looking over at where Seifer was leaning against his own door frame, waiting. "May I..." Squall swallowed and looked away, a faint flush shading his cheeks.

Seifer smiled and held out a hand. "Come on."

Squall let himself be drawn into Seifer's room, eyes smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Squall is getting more and more OoC the longer I type. Murrrr...  
> Blame it on PTSD, I suppose. You can't go through a war like that without gaining _some_ mental scars.
> 
> I sort of wanted more time with Irvine – I adore him, can you tell? – but Squall had his panic attack and I wasn't all that certain I wanted to involve Irvine in their mad plot against Ultimecia, especially since Squall didn't really want to get the others involved. Meh.  
> Irvine might show up again. Might not. We'll see.


	6. Never Felt So Far From Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered just calling them mobile telephones, but that seemed far too simple for a bunch of wackos who work with Odine, so I made it something obnoxious. XD
> 
> Also, make sure you memorise the names of all the Council Members: There will be a test.  
> No, not really. They're not even important to the story, I just got tired of trying to keep track of which 'Minister' I was talking about. So I named them all. Sorry if it's confusing.

Over the next week, Seifer and Squall did a lot of training in the mornings and afternoons, returning to Esthar just before evening to spend some time with the others in the palace. Fujin and Raijin had found a couple shops in town that were willing to hire them – Raijin at a popular restaurant, Fujin at the car rental – and with Laguna and Kiros all too often arguing with the Council, that left Ward and Ellone to themselves all day. Not that Ellone minded much, since she had taken it upon herself to research Sorceresses and report back over dinner, giving Squall and Seifer the extra time to train while also keeping everyone else in the loop.

Raijin and Fujin had been told about Seifer and Squall's magic the day after the ill-fated shopping trip. They'd also been given a shortened version of the coming threat and the plans concerning it, so they were as caught up as everyone else and just as willing to help.

The Council was still debating what to do with their resident ex-cadets. They also seemed a fair bit stunned to actually be _fighting_ about it; usually, Laguna was a pretty easy-going guy, offering his opinion and generally going with their suggestions. But every discussion about Seifer and Squall turned into an all-out war of words in the Meeting Room, often ending with someone storming out in disgust. Laguna wouldn't let them be tossed out of Esthar, he wouldn't let them be given a menial job far below their capabilities, and he would employ his son's patented glare at even the slightest _hint_ of killing the teens.

According to Raijin and Fujin, the debate over Seifer and Squall's fates was not limited to the Council Room; citizens all over the city discussed the two gunbladers, torn between awe at their obvious skills – they'd brought the three lost ships back to Esthar, after all – and fear at the uncertainty of two unaffiliated fighters residing at the palace. Fujin and Raijin did what they could in the city, mentioning Squall's relationship with Laguna and pointing out that the two had been nothing but accommodating since their arrival, even going so far as to walk the city unarmed – they'd taken to just leaving their gunblades on the Ragnarok – which went completely against everything they'd grown up learning.

Squall and Seifer spent most of their time outside of the city, but that didn't stop them from making their own friendly overtures. They took to walking between the Airstation and the palace, instead of taking the transport; stopping and talking to people on the way – Seifer did most of the talking, but Squall would occasionally add something here or there – or took a detour to buy a lunch to go – Laguna had given his son access to his account, refusing to take no for an answer. They also got to know the staff in the Airstation and the palace so well that they recognised everyone and greeted them by name. It also helped, of course, that they were so instrumental in getting all the kinks out of the MITs and available for public use

In the week and a half since Adel's Tomb had been destroyed, the Estharian scientists had picked up an old invention that had been put to the side in favour of, first, Adel's war weapons, and then because they simply had no use with the Tomb in place: mobile communicators. One of their old problems with the devices had been solved in handling Adel's Tomb, as the Lunar Base was able to receive and transmit messages around the globe, something they'd never been able to manage before.

The first of the Mobile Instant Transmission Communicators – MITs for short – were given to the Council and President, but it quickly became obvious that they wouldn't get much use, not with their leaders forever in meetings. The second batch was passed out to a few randomly chosen citizens, as well as to Seifer and Squall – the latter two only because Laguna insisted. That series got much more use, as Laguna would leave his MIT with Ellone, who would ring the two ex-cadets while they were out on whatever remote island they were running around on and talk about something she'd just learned.

With so much use – especially use outside of Esthar – the scientists were able to work out a number of kinks and the third batch was put into production in time for Seifer and Squall to go to the Deep Sea Research Centre and promptly lose all contact somewhere near the fourth level.

The fourth batch had been an all-night effort and Seifer and Squall had agreed to try taking them down into the depths of the Research Centre to check for reception. They eventually lost the open call with the scientists somewhere halfway down in the drilling hole, but it had been so deep underground that the scientists weren't worried about it being a problem. They also took the time to test reception in the Trabia mountain range, which gave the scientists even _more_ data, much to their frenzied pleasure.

Squall and Seifer were quite amused when they arrived at the Airstation the next day, only to be presented with their very own, engraved MITs, the first two of the fifth batch – or generation, as the scientists insisted on calling it.

The very next day, the MITs proved their true worth. Seifer and Squall were training on the Island Closest to Hell that day – they traded off between Heaven and Hell, both for the para-magic draw points and the variety of enemies – when Squall's MIT buzzed in his pocket. He flicked a wicked ice-spear at an incoming Ruby Dragon as he hit the answer button and held it up to his ear. "Leonhart."

 _"Squall, I was hoping you and Seifer could come back to Esthar,"_ Laguna said.

Squall waved a hand to catch Seifer's attention. "Why? Did something happen?"

_"Yes...and no. Just... meet me at the city entrance. Park at the Airstation, though."_

Squall glanced up at Seifer, who was frowning. "Should we be armed?"

Laguna seemed to consider that for a moment before saying, _"Maybe. Yes."_

Squall snapped his MIT off and dropped it into a pocket as he turned towards Ragnarok, Seifer at his side. "Something's up. He wasn't particularly helpful, but he says we should be armed."

Seifer's expression turned grim. "Fucking fantastic."

In the Ragnarok, Squall didn't even bother with his usual checks, just slipped into the pilot's chair and hit the engines. He'd probably regret taking her straight to her top speed as soon as they had the altitude to make it over the OCS, but he didn't really care right that moment.

When they landed, they made their way to the transport to the city entrance, grim-faced and gunblades loose in their sheaths. Laguna was waiting for them at the top of the lift, unsmiling. A few of the Ministers – Kasual, Villanueva, Antonios, and Organo – stood behind him, equally unsmiling, though they didn't look threatening, for once. In fact, they looked almost... relieved.

" _Finally_ ," Minister Kasual snapped before turning and starting towards the actual entrance to the Great Salt Lake. The other three followed him and Laguna motioned for the two gunbladers to follow.

"What's going on?" Seifer demanded.

"We've got a couple of guests," Laguna replied, "and they're not the friendly sort."

The teens nodded and moved quickly up the line of Ministers to the holographic entrance. There, near the bottom of the ladder, stood half a dozen White SeeDs.

Squall glanced back at the Ministers. "You want us to try playing diplomats first, or just kill them all now?"

"We always respond first with diplomacy," Minister Organo exclaimed, sounding appalled.

"Could have fooled me," Seifer muttered.

"I _hate_ diplomacy," Squall complained, hitting the button to uncover the door. Once it was open, he and Seifer both jumped down, using hastily-cast Float spells to save them from any broken bones. "Are you lost?" he asked lightly of the small group. Neither he nor Seifer had yet drawn their gunblades, but their hands weren't far from the hilts; they knew better than to trust SeeDs.

Their leader, a man Squall vaguely recognised from his memories, stepped forward, holding his hands up to show he was unarmed. "I'm Beau Owens, a SeeD. We're looking for our charge, Ellone Loire."

"She's plenty safe where she is," Squall replied coolly.

"She'll be safer with us," Owens assured him, smiling.

"If she was so safe with you, how'd you lose her?" Seifer wondered, smiling nastily. "Did one of you dirty your uniform and focus so much on cleaning it that you missed her getting carted off?"

Owens stiffened, holding up a hand when one of his men reached for the staff he held secured to his back. "We're not here to fight you, boys."

It was Seifer's turn to stiffen and consider going for his weapon, but he managed to refrain when Squall's cool magic touched his cheek.

"You would take Ellone from her family?" Squall wondered, the chill in his eyes belying his blank tone. "She is safe and happy here, Captain Owens; what right do you have to control her movements?"

Owens snorted. "You think you're protecting Ellone? You, a slip of a boy?"

"We're not the ones who _lost her_ in _Garden_ of all places," Seifer spat.

"Sir," one of the SeeDs interrupted, "they're cadets at Balamb, I recognise them. They're the only two gunbladers in all of Garden: Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy."

Owens paused, reassessing the threat that the teens posed. "Leonhart, Headmaster Kramer has been looking for you."

"You can tell him you've found me, then," Squall replied drily. "Now, if you would kindly _leave_ –"

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Owens interrupted. "Ellone is important, but you are _necessary_." He reached for the blade at his side. "Please come quietly."

"I don't suppose you'll listen to a polite refusal?" Squall wondered absently as he pulled out Revolver.

Owens smiled unpleasantly, then called, "We need Leonhart alive, but Almasy is of no importance. He's expendable."

Fire and ice flashed in the eyes of their respective wielders as the two ex-cadets jumped forward with gunblades raised. Squall met Owens head-on, refusing to give an inch, while Seifer faced the staff wielder who had moved to attack earlier as well as two other SeeDs, lashing out with an Ultima spell to take out one of his opponents.

Up above the battle, the Ministers and Laguna watched with wide eyes as the two ex-cadets took on the six SeeDs without even pausing, and easily gained the upper-hand. Laguna knew the two teens could have simply used their Sorceress magic and finished the fight before it had even started, but they'd both gone for their more conventional weapons – if you could call gunblades and para-magic conventional – ensuring that they'd have a real fight on their hands.

Glancing over at the shocked Ministers, Laguna thought he might understand Squall and Seifer's reasoning; even the Estharians were wary of crossing SeeD – a couple of cadets had given them pause – but the teens were showing, quite effectively, that they could handle SeeD, even when outnumbered three to one. Moreover, they were capable of being merciful; not one of the blows they dealt was fatal.

Owens put up more of a fight than Squall had been expecting, and Seifer managed to deal with the grunts in time to join Squall in holding Owens at gunblade point. Seifer shot him a nod, so Squall slid his gunblade out of the way and knelt in front of Owens, who was face-down in the ground, Seifer's boot holding his hands against the small of his back.

"Let me make something perfectly clear to you, Captain Owens," Squall whispered, grey-blue eyes icy, "I don't give a fuck what sort of destiny Cid expects me to fulfil, but if I have to do so, I will do it on my own terms, not his and _certainly_ not yours. We were raised by the same mother, for all that she isn't blood, so I won't kill you this time, but if I see you on Esthar soil again, I will run you through." He bent down closer and whispered, "And if you _ever_ call my lover 'expendable' again, I will make you wish you had died right here, right now. Do I make myself clear?"

Owens nodded, swallowing. In all of his life, he didn't think he'd _ever_ seen something as terrifying as those cold eyes, and he'd been through his fair share of fights.

Squall got to his feet and nodded to Seifer, who removed his foot, letting the White SeeD leader up. "None of your men are dead," Seifer commented when Owens looked around at the groaning bodies with worried eyes. "We'll heal them enough so you can leave here under your own power, but any attempts at retaliation will be returned two-fold."

"I understand," Owens murmured, head bowed in shame. "Your assistance would be appreciated."

Seifer and Squall assisted in healing the downed SeeDs and helping them to stand against each other. They waited until the line of injured had disappeared into the lake before Squall pressed the hidden button to open the secret entrance – one of the Ministers had closed it behind them – and they climbed up into the passage.

"They shouldn't be back," Squall commented blankly as he frowned at a rip in his jacket. Owens hadn't managed to draw any blood, but he'd done plenty of damage to Squall's jacket and shirt.

"What did–" Minister Antonios coughed, looking a bit nervous. "What did they want?"

"My sister," Squall announced. "Our guardian tasked them with protecting her, but she's safer – and happier – here."

"They wanted you, too," Madam Villanueva pointed out.

"Hm. So they did." Squall glanced up and met the woman's eyes evenly. "I neither know, nor do I _care_ what they want with me. I was simply a cadet, and now I am nothing." His eyes flickered towards Laguna. "I am the son of Esthar's President, but since that holds so little sway even in this city, I hardly see why it would matter to them. Is that all?"

"You didn't kill any of them," Minister Kasual commented curiously.

Seifer snorted. "We were all raised by the same woman, the same mother. For all that we dislike each other, we _do_ try not to kill our siblings. No matter how much they might deserve it."

"Is that all?" Squall asked again. When the Ministers nodded, he pressed past them, Seifer hot on his tail. "Good. I have an elder sister to reassure. If you'll excuse us..."

As the teens vanished down the lift, the four Ministers turned to each other, traded significant looks, then looked at Laguna. "We need to have a meeting," Minister Kasual announced.

Laguna only groaned a little bit.

-0-

"Squall, Seifer, I was wondering if you'd be willing to wait before leaving for the day," Laguna requested at breakfast the next morning.

The teens traded looks, then looked over at Laguna and shrugged in unison. "Sure," Seifer agreed. "What do you need us for?"

Laguna fidgeted with his spoon for a moment before admitting, "The Council wants to speak with you. _Both_ of you," he added, looking up at Seifer, who wore a heavy frown. He was none too pleased that they'd demanded both teens be in attendance, especially with the way Seifer's temper tended to flare when in the same room as any Council member for more than five minutes.

Squall touched Seifer's shoulder lightly. "There's nothing for it," he said quietly.

Seifer scowled and muttered some uncomplimentary things under his breath, but allowed himself to calm under the direction of Squall's magic.

After breakfast, Squall and Seifer followed Laguna and Kiros to the Council Room. The Council of Ministers were all there already, but when Laguna and Kiros had taken their seats, there remained two open chairs at the table. Squall and Seifer considered them uncertainly before both turning to Laguna, brows furrowed.

Laguna smiled and waved them towards the seats. "Go on."

The teens traded uncertain looks before carefully approaching the chairs and settling into them, backs stiff.

"The chairs aren't going to bite, gentlemen," Madam Stavola offered from across the table, amused.

"No, but I wouldn't put it past them to explode," Seifer muttered.

"Why are we here?" Squall asked tightly, not willing to relax in a room full of people who were almost certainly his enemies. "I think we all have better things to do than irritate each other some more."

"We're adding you to the Council," Minister Souhrada said from the far end of the table, looking at the teens over his tiny glasses.

Seifer let out a bark of laughter. "You're fucking shitting us. You lot would never let us on the Council, and even if you _would_ , the people would refuse it."

"You seem to be under the rather mistaken impression that the people of Esthar don't like you," Minister Wei commented in a light voice. "I assure you, that is not the case. In fact, after you assisted in the creation and perfection of the MITs, most of them seem to believe you shit gold bricks and braid flower chains in your free time."

Both teens snorted at that.

"Of course, we all know they're mistaken," Wei continued, smiling pleasantly, "but the point is, the people of Esthar like the two of you, for whatever reason, and after word got around about your defence of the city yesterday, it was inevitable that they demand you both be given a position in the government."

Squall narrowed his eyes. "You people may have managed to position my father behind a pile of papers and forced him to smile his way through them, but I will never allow myself to become trapped behind a desk, and neither will Seifer. We were raised as mercenaries and killing is our trade. I couldn't care less what the people of this city think of me, as long as they're not chasing me down with the nearest sharp object. No one here is fooled by your pretty words, so why don't we cut to the chase. Why. Are. We. Here?"

"You would make a poor politician," Minister Kasual commented.

"I have two knives in easy reach. Please, continue to fuck with me."

Kasual laughed and leaned back in his chair. "The people are demanding you be given a position on the Council," he allowed, "but none of us care for that, so we propose something of a trade."

"We're listening," Squall said when Kasual paused for too long. Next to him, Seifer scowled around the table, but left Squall to deal with the politicians; there was less of a chance of him accidentally killing one of them.

"Almost twelve years ago, we were approached by Headmaster Cid Kramer about building a Garden on our land," Minister Souhrada explained. "We had no interest in the land outside our borders at the time, and even less interest in creating a new, super-powered army to take the place of the one Adel had built up. So we refused him and proceeded to ignore all further contact from him.

"However, Garden concerned us, so we developed ways to keep an eye on it and its progression. The abilities of Garden graduates – be they SeeD or not – are well beyond the abilities of a normal person, as I am sure you are aware." Squall and Seifer allowed cautious nods. "We have avoided all contact with the rest of the world for the past twelve years, but then you came, bringing with you people who want you back in their world, whether you intended that or not. To someone out there, you, Squall Leonhart, are all important, and that someone – or some ones – will not stop trying to get at you."

"So, what? You want us to pack our bags and leave?" Seifer snapped.

"You will let me finish, young man," Souhrada ordered.

When Seifer looked like he was about to let out another sharp comment, Squall reached over and rested a hand on his thigh, almost immediately calming him.

Souhrada nodded and continued, "We cannot ask you to leave," his eyes snapped to Laguna, who frowned in response, "and we will not be able to fight off SeeD and Kramer's trained dogs forever as we currently are. We still retain the shelter the people of Centra used to get to this continent one hundred years ago, and we are aware that Kramer has turned these shelters into his Gardens."

"You want to create a Garden in Esthar?" Squall realised, surprised. "But, why? You hate Garden."

"We _fear_ Garden," Minister Wei corrected. "We fear what they are capable of, and that we will not have the means to stop them. Here, now, with you hiding within our borders, we have once again caught their attention. If we cannot keep them out, and we cannot kick _you_ out, then we must let them in."

Seifer snorted. "You can't expect us to train SeeD level fighters before the other Gardens come knocking; it just doesn't work like that. Squall and I have been training our _entire lives_ , and we're still nowhere near the best."

"I sincerely doubt your skills are as lacking as you believe them to be," Madam Villanueva cut in. "You two _demolished_ six SeeDs yesterday, and you barely broke a sweat. Perhaps you're not the top of the list, but I believe you're pretty close."

"The White SeeD spend most of their time running from confrontation," Squall commented drily. "I won't insult SeeD by comparing myself to them." He waved his hand absently. "Whatever. You intend to trap us not behind a desk, then, but behind a line of hopefuls?"

"Not necessarily," Minister Wei disagreed. "We have no intention in fighting SeeD – or any part of Garden, for that matter – but we are willing to let some through our borders to train and learn at an Estharian Garden, where Estharian machines and magic are used and taught. An exchange program, such as the one between Trabia and Balamb. We have technology they could only imagine in their wildest dreams, and we will allow them to train with it if they will grant us their own experience."

"What do you intend us for?" Squall asked, eyes flicking towards his father. He'd mentioned his status as SeeD Commander to the man in passing at one point a few days ago, and he had a bad feeling about this.

"We intend for you and Almasy to be in charge of the Esthar Garden," Wei announced.

"We never graduated from our own Garden," Squall snapped, temper fraying at the edges. _'I don't_ want _that responsibility again!'_ "What makes you think we would even be an _option_ for running your Garden?"

"You're familiar with the system," Madam Stavola offered, "and the other Gardens would be more comfortable dealing with you than anyone else in Esthar."

Seifer felt Squall's magic start to prickle against his skin again, as it had back in Deling, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the younger teen was on the verge of another panic attack. _'Hyne-damned Council!'_ he spat in his mind even as he schooled his face into a polite mask. "This isn't a decision we can make lightly, one way or the other," he told them in his best diplomatic tone.

Laguna picked up on the faint note of concern in Seifer's voice and agreed, "Of course. Perhaps a recess?"

Minister Souhrada sighed. "Yes, very well. One hour recess."

Seifer stood and grabbed Squall's arm, leading him from the room and down and empty hall with all due haste. There, he found an abandoned room so covered in dust, the door probably hadn't even been opened in years. He pulled Squall inside and paused long enough to leave some fire magic on the door that would burn the hand of anyone who touched the knob.

He turned to Squall and cupped the younger teen's face in his hands, taking in the wide, panicked eyes and the sweat trickling down too hot skin; Seifer's magic had been working to contain Squall's outburst without either of their notice and Seifer carefully forced it away. Almost immediately, the air around them froze and Seifer wrapped his magic around him to protect himself, not letting go of Squall even as his fingers went numb where they were touching his face.

"Squall," Seifer whispered. "Squall, come on. Eyes on me. Focus on _me_."

Squall's pupils, which had blown in his panic, slowly shrank back to normal under Seifer's gentle urging. Recognition came first, then the fear and he started breathing too fast, eyes darting around the empty room.

"It's okay," Seifer promised. "It's okay, there's no one here but us. No one got hurt, okay? _Breathe_ , Squall."

Squall's eyes slid shut and his head slipped through Seifer's hands to drop against the taller teen's chest. " _Dammit_ ," he whispered. "Fucking _damn_ it."

Seifer relaxed and wrapped one arm around Squall's waist. The other hand soothed through his brown hair, the fire magic clinging to his own skin melting the ice that had formed in Squall's hair. "Talk to me," he ordered.

Squall was quiet for a long moment, gathering his thoughts, before quietly explaining, "After the FH technicians fixed Garden, Cid named me Commander, like it was some sort of _honour_ to be leading my classmates to their deaths. And he left. He left me to take control and everyone was depending on me and I was all alone and..." Squall choked and tried to burrow deeper into Seifer's embrace, which the larger teen helpfully tightened. "I can't do that again," he whispered. "Please don't make me do that again..."

"No one's making you do anything," Seifer breathed, resting his cheek against damp, chilly hair.

"But the Council–" Squall started, making to pull away.

"Fuck the Council," Seifer growled, very determinately keeping Squall right where he was. "They can't _make_ us do anything. Maybe they kinda desperately want us doing their bidding, but there's nothing that says we can't run off with the Ragnarok and never come back. We've got our MITs, so it's not like Elle and Laguna and Rai and Fuu couldn't talk to us if they wanted to..."

Squall relaxed against the taller teen again, lifting his arms and wrapping them around Seifer's waist, under his coat. "...I don't want to leave Sis and Laguna, though..."

"So we tell them no. Just because they'd _prefer_ us doesn't mean we actually have to do it. You heard Old-Stick-Up-His-Ass, Laguna won't let them kick us out. Probably won't even let them _think_ about it in his presence." Seifer twisted his head, ignoring his neck's complaints about the awkward angle, and met the pale grey eyes. "It's your choice, Squall. I don't care either way."

Squall sucked on his lower lip, a habit he'd picked up from Ellone, and considered his choices: Continue to be a layabout, only going out for training, or actually _do_ something with his life.

 _'There are times when we all have to do something we don't want to do,'_ Quezacotl helpfully pointed out. _'And you won't be alone this time, not with Seifer there. And Laguna, too.'_

 _'I'd really hate to rain on the pity-parade–'_ Diablos interrupted.

 _'No you wouldn't,'_ Quezacotl snapped back, disgusted.

 _'–but this is probably the only chance the Council is going to give you, unless they're actually willing to drag you onto the Council itself. And they might, just to spite you; misery loves company and all that. Face it, Squall, you've got a natural talent for attracting attention_ **and** _a natural talent for leading people; you're_ going _to end up in a position of power again, whether you want it or not. The only question here is whether you're going to end up doing it sooner or later.'_

Squall sighed and shook his head. "Thanks, Diablos," he muttered, hiding his face in Seifer's vest. "I really hate you."

Seifer's chest vibrated with his chuckle. "What did the sourpuss say?"

Squall waved a negligent hand before returning it to Seifer's waist. "He just helpfully pointed out that this was going to happen at one point or another and that if I don't agree to take over the Esthar Garden, the Council might just make us Ministers and enjoy watching us be miserable up close and personal."

"They'd regret that quickly enough when one of us actually goes through with that threat to stick one of them with a knife." Seifer sighed, breath moving Squall's hair gently. He fought the urge to sigh again, just to see Squall's hair move. "What do you want to do?"

Squall closed his eyes. "You'll be there?"

"You know I will."

A faint smile curled Squall's lips at that. "Okay. We'll take the Garden, but we get first pick of the staff, especially the support staff."

Seifer's chest vibrated with his chuckle again. "I bet I know who you've got in mind."

Squall nodded. "I wouldn't give up you and Sis and Laguna, but..."

"You miss the others."

"Yeah." Squall glanced up into the smiling green eyes. "Is that okay? You'll have to refrain from calling Zell and Irvine names."

Seifer let out a long sigh. "Oh, I _suppose_."

"But no Rinoa," Squall added quickly. "She's not really..."

"Garden material?"

"Exactly."

"What makes you think the others will come?" Seifer wondered.

Squall thought back to Quistis, struggling with being the instructor of students she'd once sat side-by-side with; to Selphie, trying to fit in at a new school that was too serious to accept her need for a Garden Festival; to Zell, forever complaining about never getting any hot dogs or recognition for how 'awesome' he was; to Irvine, who claimed he was a loner, though he really was just looking for his family back. "They'll come," he said with certainty.

Seifer leaned down and brushed their lips together. "Let's go back, then," he whispered.

Squall nodded and they shared one last kiss before stepping out of the room and turning towards the Council Room. They would have things their way, and no table of politicians with sticks up their asses were going to stop them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get to bring Irvine back. *whistles a happy little tune* Irvine... Irvine...
> 
> So, it's always sort of bothered me, a bit, the way mobile phones appear in the fandom during the game canon. I mean, if they can't get proper television working, why the fuck would mobiles work? All their programmes are pre-recorded and transmitted via cables, so far as I can tell, so a wired-in email system makes sense, and maybe short-range radios, but anything long distance shouldn't exist until Adel's Tomb is out of the picture, right?  
> Right.


	7. Voice From the Past

"I should have known it was too easy," Squall muttered, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. The Council had agreed to their insistence that they be allowed to bring in outside staff with only a token resistance; actually getting those people from outside Esthar, however, was turning into a chore and a half.

Having basically quit Garden as cadets, Martine wouldn't even look at their messages, and Xu wasn't much better, especially since Cid had apparently had a nervous breakdown after Squall's last message. The Trabia Garden Headmistress, Angelica Fields, was willing to talk to them, but she was against sending a student who hadn't graduated or taken the exam yet away from her Garden, unless it was to _take_ the exam.

"I say we take the Ragnarok out and just kidnap the lot of them," Seifer muttered. He'd been the one dealing with Martine and his messages to the stuck-up Headmaster had been getting progressively more insulting for every two hours that they were ignored.

"The Council would call us up on charges of abusing technology or some such bullshit." Squall sighed. "You know, I almost miss Cid. _He_ would have handed Quistis and Zell right over with a smile. Xu just cites regulations at me and occasionally drops a comment about Cid's mental state. Bitch."

"Maybe if we signed up for the SeeD exam next month–"

"Unlike _some_ people I know, I don't care to take the SeeD exam twice," Squall snarked. " _Especially_ not when there's a good chance it'll be the exact same as the one I already did."

"Oh, burn."

Squall's MIT buzzed on his desk and he hit the answer button as he returned his attention to the list of interested student names the Council's runner had dropped by that morning. "Leonhart."

 _"Squall, I demand you take me on a trip,"_ Ellone ordered through the mobile device.

Squall raised both eyebrows. "Have you _seen_ the amount of paperwork I have to go through? Sis, we haven't even had time to train, never mind taking you somewhere."

 _"I don't care,"_ Ellone declared. _"You're going to meet me at the Airstation in forty minutes and take me wherever I want to go."_

"Sis–"

 _"No buts!"_ The line went dead.

Squall glanced over at Seifer, a peculiar look on his face. "Sis is demanding we take her out on the Ragnarok," he stated.

Seifer pointed at his overflowing desk. "See this?"

"Tried that."

Seifer sighed and gave the mess of papers on his desk a tired look. He, honestly, wasn't even sure where the 'in' pile was and where the 'out' one was any more, the mess having lost all designations sometime before they went to bed last night. "Maybe she's right. We've hardly left the building in two days; we could use the break."

Squall rubbed again at the bridge of his nose, then shoved away from his desk before he could talk himself out of it. "Right. Let's go."

They had a car parked in the empty Garden garage and Squall tossed Seifer the keys, too irritated to drive. Seifer liked driving when he was irritated, though. Especially on the open plains of Esthar. _'Should have taken some nausea potion,'_ Squall complained to himself as Seifer squealed out of the garage onto the plains, maxing out the speed gauge and grinning a little madly as they went flying over a bump.

"I really hate you sometime," Squall muttered as they climbed out at the car rental.

"No, you hate my driving. There's a difference."

"You are _not_ flying my ship. Just so we're clear."

"I wouldn't drive the Ragnarok like that car."

"No, you won't. Because _you're not flying my ship_."

Ellone was waiting for them at the Airstation, smiling as they walked up to her. "Good. Come on." She slipped her arms through both of theirs and led them inside, only to be forced to wait as many of the staff stopped to talk to the two gunbladers.

Once they were all in the ship and Squall had been cleared for take-off, Ellone directed, "East."

"Any particular spot east?" Squall asked drily as he flipped the controls and turned them east, easing on the acceleration.

"I'll know it when I see it."

Squall traded a look with Seifer. "Okay, Sis," he agreed, shaking his head. _'We're taking a break. A very long, Sis-directed break. But I should be looking through the student lists–'_

"Here!" Ellone announced.

Squall set the controls to land even as Seifer checked his map and said, "Elle, this is the Island Closest to Hell..."

"Exactly." Ellone shot them a sweet smile. "I'm going to sit in the hanger while you two keep me safe. _Without_ cheating."

"We _never_ cheat," Seifer insisted, standing from his chair and stretching as Squall turned off the engines. "Well, Squall? Up for a challenge?"

" _What_ challenge?" Squall muttered. "It's only the Island Closest to Hell. Now, the paperwork on my desk, _that_ is a challenge."

"I dunno, you're starting to develop a bit of a stomach right here– Ow! No ice! That's cheating!"

"You called me _fat_."

"I did no such thing! I just said you're– Look! Blue Dragon!"

Ellone laughed to herself as she took a seat on the ground in the hanger. Then she slipped the tiny video recording device she'd borrowed from Laguna's office out of her pocket and flipped it on. Quietly, so the teens wouldn't hear her, she said, "Welcome, Headmaster Martine Middleton, Headmistress Angelica Fields and Acting Headmistress Xu Han, to the Island Closest to Hell. In front of me, you'll see Esthar Garden's new Headmasters, Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy, taking on a... Seifer called it a Blue Dragon? I don't know a lot about these high-level monsters, but I _do_ know that Squall and Seifer train here a lot.

"Maybe neither of them really graduated, and maybe they never made SeeD, either, but you've got to admit, for a couple of ex-cadets, they sure know their way around a monster. Erm, two monsters... I think that's... a T-Rexaur? Yeah, I've seen them a couple of times in the Balamb Garden Training Centre. Anyway, I told them they couldn't cheat, so they've probably got a couple of spells junctioned, but they're not using any magic or GFs. They'll be fine though, 'cause they do this all the time.

"You know, Squall and Seifer were the first two Garden cadets. Uncle Cid sort of built Garden for them. At first, it was just him and a couple of his old army friends, trying to control a five and six year old." She laughed, shaking her head. "His messages to us were always so funny, filled with all sorts of stories about how much trouble they were getting into and how Squall and Seifer were only interested in hitting each other with sticks, not learning anything.

"But, then, one day, the stories just stopped. Uncle Cid was more concerned with money, with expanding, and Squall and Seifer sort of got lost in an influx of students. No one even remembers that they were the first, not any more. I mean, _I_ do, but I'm just another civilian.

"It's sort of my fault, I think, that they left Garden. Squall will go on about how it was his choice and there were more important things than making SeeD. And I suppose he's right – SeeD _isn't_ the end all, be all, but it's pretty close, especially for someone who can only remember snippets of his life before Garden. But he ran into me in the library, and I'd slipped my guards again. He was so angry with me, and maybe worried. And then he took me on a trip, and took me all the way to Esthar to see Uncle Laguna, who I hadn't seen in seventeen years. Seifer followed us 'cause he's always followed Squall. They sort of follow each other. Always have.

"The people of Esthar didn't trust Seifer and Squall at first. I mean, they were _Garden_ , and it didn't matter if they'd effectively dropped out, they still had started there, had grown up there. Fighting is a part of who they are, almost as much as breathing, and that scares the Estharians. It really scared the Council; they placed all sorts of constraints on Squall and Seifer, always arguing and stuff. It finally got to the point where Seifer refused to have anything to do with the Council, wouldn't even hear what they'd been up to, what they'd been talking about.

"Maybe... a week ago, the White SeeD – my protectors – came knocking on Esthar's front door. The Council was really freaked out, 'cause it was SeeD, you know? So they called the closest thing they had to SeeD, no matter how much they detest Squall and Seifer. And Squall and Seifer won. They tried to solve things peacefully, like the Estharians wanted, but the White SeeD don't do things peacefully, and they got into a fight.

"Uncle Laguna said it was absolutely brilliant. Squall and Seifer just sort of flowed, and they took down six fully-trained SeeDs – no matter what Squall says about how pathetic the White SeeD are – by themselves. They didn't kill a single one, and then they helped them back to the ship. And when the Estharians heard, they started demanding that Squall and Seifer have a place on the Council, 'cause that's what they deserve. But Seifer hates the Council, and Squall only puts up with them because he doesn't want to chance Seifer accidentally killing one if they tick him off too much. It was agreed that Squall and Seifer would start up a Garden in Esthar, and they could accept whatever students they wanted and pick whatever staff they wanted. It's all up to them.

"Uncle Laguna told me this morning that Squall and Seifer were having trouble getting you three to even talk to them, and Squall would be really upset if Uncle Laguna went behind his back about making you three listen – he's not really used to having a dad, yet, but they're working on it – so I thought I'd try instead. Squall never stays mad at me long, so it should be okay."

Ellone turned the camera away from the fighting figures in the near-distance and gave the viewer her best impression of Squall's glare. "So, you listen here: Squall and Seifer are my little brothers, and they haven't had a lot of good in their lives. Garden was created for them, and Garden forgot them. Everything you have, everything you are, is because of those two. Don't you _dare_ snub them."

"Sis?" Squall called. "You okay?"

Ellone smiled and flipped the recording off, slipping the machine back into her dress as the two teens wandered back over. "I'm okay! Are you feeling better, now?"

Seifer idly swung Hyperion in a circle, flinging monster blood across the grass. "Oh, yeah. Definitely better." He grinned a bit madly, a streak of blood – Ellone couldn't tell if it was his own or from something else – drying just under his left eye.

Ellone wrinkled her nose. "You two need a shower. And new clothing."

"We keep a couple changes on the Ragnarok, near the showers," Squall offered, tugging off his jacket and giving it a helpless look. "I need to stop wearing this when I'm training."

Seifer, who had wisely left his coat in the cockpit, snorted. "Idiot."

Squall sighed and dropped the ruined jacket over the handle of Revolver, the blade having been shoved into the ground. He pulled off his sleeveless tee next and proceeded to use it to clean off his gunblade.

"Boys," Ellone muttered, shaking her head and climbing to her feet. "I'll be in the cockpit. Away from you and your..."

"Boyish ways?" Seifer suggested with a winning grin.

"...I was going to say something about you being blood-covered, but I suppose that works too."

Squall waved her on, inspecting his blade. "We'll be there once we've showered and changed."

"If you take too long, I'll start playing with the controls," Ellone threatened.

"He locked them to his DNA!" Seifer called after her as Ellone headed for the lift.

Ellone shook her head, amused and somehow unsurprised at her brother's paranoia. She'd sort of been expecting him to do something like that ever since Laguna had announced during the opening party for Esthar Garden that he was giving the Ragnarok to Squall.

Not that Squall's DNA locking kept her from accessing the on-board messaging service, which was linked into the emergency radio and homing beacon and couldn't be locked. It only took her a moment to hack into Laguna's messaging client – she _had_ been raised by SeeD – and hook up the recording device. Another couple moments saw the large data file attaching to a message, which she then sent out to Martine, Angelica and Xu.

By the time Squall and Seifer got back up there – Seifer so very obviously watching Squall's ass, while Squall so very obviously ignored him – Ellone was back in her seat, reading one of the magazines she'd stored in the communications chair, where she preferred to sit.

"Haven't you read that one already?" Seifer wondered as Squall went through his pre-flight checks. Ellone had yet to see him skip them, although Seifer swore he'd forgotten at least twice.

Ellone turned the magazine and considered the cover for a moment before shrugging. "Nope."

"Anywhere else you want to go?" Squall wondered as he started the engines.

"Home for lunch," Ellone replied. "At the palace, with Uncle Laguna and Kiros and Ward and Fuu and Rai. _Not_ in your office." She shot Squall a look over the top of her magazine, which he rolled his eyes at.

"We should hire a cook," Seifer commented as they turned back towards Esthar.

"We should hire _two_ cooks. At least," Squall retorted. "Over half those applications are for boys between ten and fifteen. You _do_ remember what it was like at that age, right?"

"Good point. We'll hire three cooks." Seifer rubbed at his chin. "I think I need a shave."

Squall's eyes flickered towards him. "If you must."

Seifer's lips curled with a smirk. "What was that, Squall? You like my stubble?"

Squall held out an ice-covered hand when Seifer moved to rub his cheek against Squall's, effectively stopping the blond before he could do much more than consider it.

Seifer sighed and flopped back in his chair, both of them ignoring Ellone's giggles behind them. "Maybe I'll ask Rai if he knows any good chefs in the city. Fuck knows the Council is tossing us enough money to buy all the chefs on the planet."

"Let's avoid that," Squall suggested drily. "The only reason our funds are so large is because the Council wants us out of their hair."

"What little they have left," Seifer added under his breath, though both of the other two heard him.

"I can't imagine _why_ they dislike us so much," Squall added, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, _you're_ the one who insults them with a smile."

"I don't smile," Squall reminded him.

"Whatever." Seifer waved that away. "You insult them in the most disturbingly polite way you can. It's _really creepy_. And kind of hot."

"Can you go _five seconds_ without thinking about sex?" Squall wondered, exasperated.

"Sure. I can go five _days_ without thinking about sex. Not that I'd want to." Seifer turned to give the giggling Ellone an overly dramatic wink.

Squall shook his head, quietly amused, and set about turning them so they could land without bumping into either of the other two ships. "I'm going to have to start parking out by Garden," he commented to no one in particular.

"But then you'll _never_ come into the city!" Ellone complained.

Squall turned off the engine with a sigh and turned to look at Ellone. "Sis, they've got another two ships being built right now. There's _barely_ enough room for three ships on this landing platform, I shudder to think how many scratches Ragnarok will get trying to move around four other ships."

"We'll still come into the city," Seifer promised. "And there's nothing saying that you can't come visit us."

"I can't drive," Ellone muttered.

Squall reached down and pulled his sister to her feet. "I'll teach you," he promised, linking their arms together. "Come on, lunch."

Ellone sighed, but was cheered by Squall's promise; she wouldn't mind learning to drive and no longer need a chauffeur to go anywhere outside the city. There'd never been a need for her to learn before, having grown up on a ship, but now that she was living on land, it was a bit more important. Anyway, it would be nice to feel a bit more self-sufficient; it was hard having two such successful little brothers.

The others were pleasantly surprised at having Squall and Seifer join them and they spent lunch listening to Raijin talk about a minor explosion in the restaurant he worked at early that morning, as well as their attempts during the rest of the morning to salvage the day.

Seifer did eventually get around to asking about chefs and Raijin promised to ask around. He wasn't secure enough in his own skills to take a position at Garden, but he was willing to get the word out that Seifer and Squall were looking. Fujin, meanwhile, promised to talk to her boss about giving Garden some of their older model vehicles, so the two Headmasters wouldn't have to keep renting them every time they wanted to travel between the city and Garden.

An hour and a half later, Squall and Seifer were finally able to make their excuses and get away. "I like them, really I do," Seifer commented drily as they waved to the smiling guards outside the palace entrance, "but sometimes I'm glad we don't have to live there anymore."

Squall shrugged. "Perhaps if we weren't parked so far away, they wouldn't be so clingy."

"They can take _that one_ up with the Council. Personally, I'm kinda glad to be so far away from the city." Seifer glanced back towards the palace, gleaming in the sun. "I've got nothing against Esthar, but I'm used to small towns."

"I know." Squall paused at the split that would take them either to the Airstation, or the rental company. "I should move Ragnarok while I'm thinking about it."

Seifer nodded. "I'll meet you back at Garden, then? I don't like not having a car in the building."

"Sure," Squall agreed and they separated to collect their vehicles.

At Garden, they met by the lift and took it up together, silently bemoaning the states of their desks.

"I'm sure Martine is hoping I've given up," Seifer mentioned as he dropped into his chair and reached for his messaging device. "It's been almost four hours since I... last... What?" He blinked in disbelief at the message from Martine.

Squall, who had found messages from both Xu and Angelica in his own inbox, had opened one, eyebrows raised. Angelica mentioned his sister and Squall sighed. "Ellone."

Seifer let out a quiet laugh, having read Martine's own mention of the young woman. "Well played, Elle."

"I'm not sure I want to know what she said," Squall muttered, popping open Xu's message and reading it over. "What's Martine say?"

"He wants to meet with us. Angelica and Xu?"

"Angelica would like to meet up to discuss terms of an exchange program. She'd still like Selphie to get her SeeD certification before letting her join us, but she and Xu are apparently discussing an alternate SeeD practical for Selphie and Zell, to get them certified before handing them over." Squall glanced up at Seifer, almost smiling at the dumbfounded look on the other teen's face. "I know. Final choice on whether or not they _want_ to transfer is going to be left to Selphie, Zell and Quistis, but they're willing to do it."

"Fuck," Seifer breathed, glancing back at Martine's message. "Elle, _what_ did you _say_ to them?"

Squall shook his head. "Trabia and Galbadia don't get along too well, so maybe we should plan separate meetings for both of them. I'd say divide and conquer, but..." He shot Seifer a look.

Seifer sighed and shook his head. "I'd prefer to show a united front myself, and not just because there's a chance one of us will lose control of our power. You said Angelica wants to talk about setting up an exchange program?"

"That's what she's implying. Selphie's future seems to be up to her and whatever SeeD exam Xu sets up. You're suggesting we wait and get some actual students before meeting with her?"

"It would be for the best," Seifer agreed, tapping out a quick message to Martine. "Not sure what his schedule might be like, but it'll be easier for us to go to him, especially since we're still trying to sort things out here as it is." He cast a helpless glance at his desk. "I hope at least Quistis comes; she'd be way better with paperwork than I am."

"Hm," Squall agreed, sending his own message to Angelica. He also typed out a quick message to Xu requesting that she keep him updated on any further developments towards the special exam for Zell and Selphie, and to let him know how Quistis responded to the requested transfer. Once that was done, he set the message tablet back in its rest and returned to his desk. With a sigh, he dove back in.

-0-

Martine had been intrigued by their assurances that they could get to Galbadia Garden at any time, so had cleared a slot of time for their meeting the very next day. Squall and Seifer had debated the pros and cons of landing the Ragnarok within viewing distance of Galbadia Garden on their way to the western continent, eventually agreeing that if the Council was willing to open their borders for an exchange program, they couldn't bitch about Ragnarok being seen by anyone outside Esthar.

So Squall parked right outside.

By the time the engines were off and they'd cleared the hanger, they'd gathered quite the crowd, including a grinning cowboy, who walked right up to them. "Look at this! What is it?"

"It's the Ragnarok," Seifer answered as Squall closed the hanger door and set about locking his ship against any curious students. "Squall's dad gave it to him."

"I can't decide if Laguna's awesome, or just insane," Irvine decided. "This is Esthar technology?"

"At its finest," Seifer agreed. "She was originally built for space-flight, but we use her for... pretty much everything, actually."

"What sort of guns has she got?" Irvine wondered, eyeing the large ship appreciatively. "Looks like a particle cannon."

"It is," Seifer agreed. "And two multi-barrel lasers. She could probably level a town, if we set our minds to it."

"Is she the only one Esthar's got?" Irvine asked, and the other students nearby leaned in, lines of worry on their faces.

"She’s one of three," Squall answered, waving a negligent hand, "and they're working on another two right now. We'd have more, but when Esthar closed their borders, there wasn't much point."

"I sure hope Esthar doesn't decide to start another war," Irvine mentioned.

"Not going to happen," Seifer said with certainty. "They're practically pacifists, for all that they know their way around a gun. Our gunblades practically had them fleeing in terror."

Squall sighed. "We're here to see Headmaster Martine," he interrupted.

Irvine nodded. "Yeah, figured as much. I'm supposed to take you up." He grinned and motioned for them to follow him into the building. "We thought you'd take a boat to the coast near Deling and drive in, not that you’d land on our front lawn. Good show, though."

"A moment," Seifer requested before turning back to the curious crowd milling around the Ragnarok. "Hey, you lot! Just thought I should warn you that it's booby-trapped! Don't touch it if you don't want to end up in the infirmary!"

Squall let out a faintly sad sound. "I was hoping they'd be daring enough to try opening the hanger..."

"That's a _great_ way to start out a working relationship with Galbadia Garden," Seifer responded drily as they continued their way into the large Garden. "I thought you were supposed to be the brains behind this operation."

"I am," Squall informed him. "They should know better than to go around playing with technology they know nothing about."

"You just wanted to see someone laid out from the electrical charge you set to build up in the console," Seifer accused.

Irvine snorted, catching sight of Squall's smirk. "You two here as ambassadors, then?" he asked.

"Not really." Seifer shrugged. "We're here to work out an exchange program, of sorts."

"What, between Galbadia's army and Esthar's?"

"No, between Galbadia Garden and Esthar Garden," Squall offered quietly as they started up the stairs to the second level. The lift to the Headmaster's office, he knew, was only accessible from the second floor.

"Esthar has a Garden?" Irvine asked, stopping and turning to stare at them. "What, seriously?"

"It's only existed for three days, Kinneas," Seifer commented with a smirk. "Don't get your panties in a knot."

Irvine shot Seifer a disgusted look and asked, "If it's only existed for three days, why are you two..." He blinked, suddenly understanding, and turned to Squall with an incredulous expression. "What idiot made _him_ Headmaster of a Garden?"

Squall snorted while Seifer full-out laughed. "The Estharian Council of Ministers. They figured I could keep him under control, and _I_ figure that any student aspiring to join Garden should have enough spine to put up with him in charge."

Irvine shook his head. "I pity your students. Come on."

"What, no shock over Squall being in a position of power?" Seifer complained as they continued towards Martine's office.

"Squall won't go around _abusing_ that power," Irvine retorted. " _You_ , on the other hand..."

"Behave," Squall ordered when Seifer opened his mouth to unleash one of his infamous insults on the cowboy.

Seifer huffed, but obediently subsided.

When Irvine shot Squall a surprised look, the gunblader raised an eyebrow at him before nodding at the lift in front of them. "This it?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Irvine shook his head and hit the call button. "I'm supposed to go in with you." He shot them a suspicious look, but Squall's face was a closed book and Seifer was still looking mildly disgruntled about being told off before.

As soon as the lift opened, Seifer took the lead, striding confidently up to where Martine was rising to meet him. "Seifer Almasy," he offered, hand out.

Martine took the offered hand, eyes approving. "Martine Middleton. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. And this must be Squall Leonhart?" He turned and offered his hand to Squall, who shared a quick hand shake.

"I am," he responded.

"Please, sit," Martine directed, taking his own seat. "Kinneas, you as well." Once they had all settled into chair, Martine continued with, "Kinneas, Headmasters Squall and Seifer were requesting your transfer to their Garden. I'm not fond of losing one of my best sharpshooters, but it's your choice where you'd prefer to go. I know your father wants you to follow him into the army after graduation, but he'd be willing to let you go where you want."

"But I'll be graduating next year," Irvine said, looking at the two gunbladers with a surprised look. "There's not much point in me transferring to a new Garden."

"We don't want you as a _student_ , Irvine," Seifer explained. "I told you on our way up here, we've barely had the place for three days; we're looking for staff right now. Sure, setting up a proper working relationship with the other Gardens is important–" He nodded to Martine, who smiled easily back, "–but we can't have a Garden without people. There's only so much Squall and I can manage alone."

Irvine shook his head. "Okay, fine. So, why me? I graduate next year. What could a cadet do?"

"You're the best sniper in Garden," Squall quietly offered, "and in the top ten best sharp shooters. Who else would we ask to teach a bunch of pacifists how to shoot?" His eyes smiled at the faintly embarrassed look Irvine wore at that. "We want people we can trust, Irvine, and you're one of those few."

Irvine shook his head. "I haven't graduated," he pointed out, though there was a certainty in his eyes; if they wanted him, he was there. They were family.

"And we have?" Seifer snorted. "We're hardly going to refuse someone because they haven't taken a final exam. _Especially_ someone we asked first."

Irvine glanced at his Headmaster, who was smiling faintly, then back at the two older teens across from him. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'll do it."

Seifer grinned. " _Excellent_."

"But if you call me 'Little Miss', I'll use you for target practise."

Seifer snorted. "Fair enough."

Martine nodded and leaned forward over his desk. "Excellent. Now, perhaps we should discuss this exchange program you keep mentioning."

Seifer shrugged. "Sure. We're not looking to officially start anything until after the summer holidays, to give our students and staff time to settle in, but we would like to set up something. Esthar's willing to let Garden cadets into the continent, but they have stipulations, mostly concerning bringing weapons inside the city. We're far enough outside the city limits that it shouldn't be an issue, but everyone needs to understand that the Council is not going to be lenient about this. They do not want armed cadets in the city."

"And technology-wise?" Martine wondered, eyes greedy. "It is hard not to notice your ship."

"The Ragnarok is not a Garden-owned vehicle," Squall interrupted firmly. "It's my ship. The other Super-High-Mobility-Flying-Ships belong to the President and Council, and all use of them will be at their discretion. So far, there aren't any plans to use them in conjunction with Garden, but that may change in the future." His eyes narrowed. "If Galbadia wants access to Estharian technology, you can start your own talks with President Loire and the Council of Ministers; that is out of our hands."

"Esthar doesn't employ a great deal of weaponry-based technology, anyway," Seifer agreed, shrugging. "We've got some advanced vehicles and defensive technology, as well as whatever Odine's cooking up in his lab, but there's not a lot of interesting new things for Garden to use."

Martine looked a little disappointed, but asked, "Do you think Esthar would be _willing_ to share their technology?"

Seifer looked to Squall, who shrugged. "President Loire seems open to it, but the Council isn't. If Galbadia goes into it offering to sign a non-aggression treaty, you might have more luck, but I can't say for certain either way. So far as I know, Esthar's only opening its borders for Garden because they were running out of options; I don't know how much luck you'd have from a governmental stand-point."

"I see." Martine sighed a bit. "Very well, I'll let President Deling know what you've told me."

"I'd caution him against using any force, no matter how fucking obnoxious the Council gets," Seifer suggested with a disgusted look. "And they _will_ be obnoxious, I assure you. But any threats on Galbadia's behalf will just see Esthar closing its borders again, even to Garden, and I doubt any of us want that."

Martine grimaced. "No, we don't. I'll pass on the warning. Thank you." He turned his gaze back to Irvine. "Kinneas, you're free to move out whenever you want. I'll leave transportation up to Esthar." He nodded to Squall and Seifer.

"Of course, sir," Irvine agreed as the three teens stood, recognising a dismissal when they heard one.

"We'll be in touch," Seifer promised.

"Good luck," Martine replied, waving them out.

In the lift, Squall turned to Irvine. "We can pack you up and take you now, or come back to get you any time over the next few days – your choice."

Irvine considered his hands for a long moment before shrugging. "Are you willing to wait half an hour or so for me to collect my things?"

"Certainly," Seifer agreed. "If you don't mind us following you around, we'll even come with. I've never been to Galbadia Garden before."

"Sure. This way." Irvine led the way through the halls, asking, "What's Esthar like, anyway? The city, not the Garden."

"Huge," Seifer replied, grinning a bit. "They've got buildings taller than this Garden, and the presidential palace could easily fit two Galbadia Gardens inside. Everything is blue and they have a transit system that's even more efficient than Deling's buses. Quicker, too."

"Are we really not allowed to carry weapons inside the city?" Irvine wondered.

"You can get away with concealed knives and any magic or GFs you junction, but no obvious weapons," Seifer offered, shrugging at Irvine's appalled look. "I know, trust me, but you get used to it, eventually." He sighed. "We're still trying to work out a system for people who take their weapons with them to the city for whatever reason."

"We're not telling the students they can get away with concealed weapons," Squall added before turning to Seifer with a thoughtful look. "Maybe see if the rental place is willing to store weapons? And we can ask Laguna to assign some guards there that know to keep an eye on anyone coming in from Garden. The Council should approve that without any fuss."

"The rental place would be more willing if we already got the go ahead from Laguna to station guards," Seifer replied, nodding.

"Hmm..." Squall pulled out his MIT as they stepped into Irvine's empty dorm room.

"What's that?" Irvine wondered as Squall dialled his father's number and turned away.

"Mobile Instant Transmission Communicator," Seifer answered for Squall. "MIT for short. They're Esthar's newest creation. Come on, let's pack your stuff while he's talking with Laguna."

 _"President Loire,"_ Laguna said as he picked up.

"Laguna, Seifer and I just had a thought."

 _"Uh-oh."_ Laguna let out a laugh. _"Okay, what's up?"_

"We've been trying to figure out a way to keep students from walking around the city with any weapons, even when they need them to get there. Is there any way we can set up a sort of 'weapons check' in or near the rental shop? Or wherever else you intend for students to enter by."

Laguna shuffled some papers on his desk. _"I don't see why not. Would Garden be willing to check their weapons, though? Especially when someone might walk off with them."_

"I somehow doubt anyone in Esthar would run off with a weapon," Squall commented drily, earning him a chuckle from his father. "We were thinking you might be willing to staff a few guards, though. Especially ones who know to look for concealed knives."

 _"Are you suggesting you're willing to leave your own knives at home?"_ Laguna teased.

"I don't need knives to handle any trouble," Squall retorted, rolling his eyes. "Especially not in Esthar, of all places. Could we work something out?"

_"Yeah, sure. I'll run it by the Council on Monday. Once they've agreed, I'll work out a rotation with the head of the army. Was there a specific time you wanted this put together by?"_

"Whenever." Squall waved a hand at that, then glanced over his shoulder at where Seifer was helping Irvine pack and teasing him. "Would you let Sis know we'll be returning to Garden in half an hour or so with Irvine? She wanted me to let her know when everyone's arriving."

_"Certainly. Were you intending to drop by for dinner tonight?"_

"No. Do we need to?"

Laguna sighed. _"No, not really. It would be nice to see you, though."_

Squall pinched the bridge of his nose, faintly irritated. "You are perfectly capable of coming to visit us, Laguna. We have too much work to do as it is, and constantly running back to the city for some meal or another doesn't help."

 _"I know, I know,"_ Laguna soothed. _"I'm sorry if asking bothers you so much. Is it okay if we come to you for dinner? I wouldn't mind meeting Irvine again, and I know Ellone would like to see him."_

Squall sighed. "Whatever."

 _"We'll see you tonight, then,"_ Laguna decided.

Squall hit the button to end the call and joined the other two on Irvine's side of the room, which was much cleaner than his roommate's. "Laguna said he'll mention the idea to the Council on Monday. Also, he and Sis are coming by for dinner tonight. Possibly the others, as well."

"It'll be nice to see Sis again," Irvine commented neutrally, watching as Squall and Seifer brushed hands briefly, "and Laguna's okay."

Squall shrugged. "Anything I can help with?"

Irvine quickly set him something and they finished everything in record time. Carrying Irvine's things, they made their way out to the Ragnarok, where they found a couple of students out cold off to one side while a couple of others were very carefully looking at but not touching the command panel, whispering ways to get around Squall's booby trap.

"Here," Squall said, dropping the two bags he'd held at Seifer's feet before pulling out a knife and tossing it with deadly accuracy into the panel in question. The panel sparked, then exploded in the students' faces.

Seifer sighed and leaned down to pick up Squall's bags while the shorter gunblader stalked over to the gaggle of students, murder in his eyes. "Honestly. You'd think they would have learned after the first one hit the ground."

"Is the ship going to be okay?" Irvine wondered, shifting the bags in his arms.

Seifer snorted. "He was just turning off the booby trap."

Irvine shot him a disbelieving look. "It _looked_ like he just blew the entire panel."

"Nah." Seifer started towards the ship as Squall opened the hanger door. "He had to cut whatever wires he crossed, and it exploded a bit, but the Ragnarok is far more resilient than you think. And he's scary clever when he traps it. One of the technicians at the Airstation back in Esthar didn't listen when Squall told him not to touch something in the cockpit and they found him frozen solid after a few hours."

Irvine shook his head, watching the younger gunblader as they all boarded. Squall didn't look like much, really, but they'd heard about Balamb's gunbladers in Galbadia, so he knew the teen was quick on his feet and a master of his difficult weapon. After eating lunch with everyone over a week ago and watching Squall and Seifer in Martine's office, he also knew that Squall was serious to a fault, rarely smiled and had a pretty good head on his shoulders, though he could lose it, just like anyone else. He and Seifer also seemed to be together, which was cool with Irvine.

 _'I'll be living and working with them from now on,'_ Irvine reminded himself as he was led up to the cockpit. _'Life should be interesting.'_

"Just sit anywhere," Seifer offered as he dropped his bags near the lift. Squall was already running through his pre-flight checks in the pilot's chair. "It's a relatively short flight, unless... Hey, Squall?"

"Hm?" Squall didn't bother looking up.

"Do you want to swing over the city? Show Irvine what we're living next to."

"Sure." Squall flipped a couple of switches and the engines roared to life. "I hope, for their sake, that those brats stayed away from the hanger door."

Seifer chuckled. "More the pity if they didn't." He turned his seat to look at Irvine as they raised off the ground. "Most of the rooms aren't furnished yet, but I think there's a couple of singles with the basics. There's supposed to be a team coming over from Esthar next week to figure out what all, exactly, we need, so if you decide you want a bigger room or a different bed, make a note and we can let them know when they show up."

Irvine shrugged. "Sure thing. What do you want me doing until there are actually students around?"

Seifer grinned. "You can help us with paperwork."

Squall snorted. "You can get some training in the plains around Garden, if you'd like, or go into the city. Tears' Point, to the south of us, is something of a tourist attraction, if you wanted to avoid the city. There's also Odine's lab, which is between us and the city. If you happen by on one of Odine's good days, you can wander around and be in awe of his insanity; if it's one of his bad days, he'll kick you out before you can fully get through the front doors."

"He also has a bad habit of talking your ear off," Seifer added, shaking his head. He'd only met the crazy scientist once, but that had been more than enough for his sanity.

"He likes to expound on his brilliance," Squall agreed drily. "Irvine, come here."

Irvine blinked, but obediently stood and walked over to stand between the two chairs. Seifer had turned back around by the time he got there, so he leaned an arm on each chair-back. "What's up?"

Ragnarok dipped slightly and Irvine's breath caught as the blue cityscape came into view. It was... It was huge, certainly, but it was also a creation of architectural genius – or insanity – with buildings curling every which way and reflecting the sun at unusual angles.

"Welcome to Esthar," Seifer offered, grinning as he watched Irvine's shock.

"You said I could go exploring?" Irvine asked Squall.

"As long as you leave your gun behind, yeah," Squall agreed. "Sis would jump at the chance to show you around, too. You can ask her at dinner." He smoothly turned them to the east and towards Esthar Garden.

Irvine grinned a bit as he saw his new home. He wasn't surprised to see the swirling blue and purple motif or the semi-transparent walls that made up most of the upper floors. He was a little surprised to realise there were no roads leading to or from the building – why bother building a Garden and no access – but then they were landing and he was swept up in Seifer's excitement at getting to show off his home.

Squall followed at a slower pace than Seifer and Irvine, shaking his head and gathering the bags that had been left behind in Seifer's rush out the door.

-0-

Irvine managed to join the quiet life at Esthar Garden without a hitch. His first afternoon, he got dragged around Esthar City by Ellone, having a fantastic time. He felt a little bad that evening, however, when he got back late and found the two Headmasters eating sandwiches over piles of paperwork.

"Do you need any help?" he asked, standing awkwardly in the doorway of the large office.

Squall glanced up from the application he was reading through. "No, not really. You look tired."

Irvine shrugged a bit helplessly. "Sis was quite excited about showing me around," he admitted. "I can stay in tomorrow and help you guys, though."

Seifer shook his head, not even bothering to look up. "Xu asked for all three of us to show up tomorrow afternoon, after lunch. She's probably got something nasty in store."

Squall sighed. "I doubt it's anything like that," he said, sounding rather like it was a conversation he'd had before. "Angelica said Selphie's at Balamb, so it's probably about working out her and Zell's SeeD exam."

"Then why does _Irvine_ need to come, too?" Seifer demanded, finally looking up.

Squall glanced up towards the ceiling helplessly. "I don't know. Contrary to belief, I do not, in fact, possess all the answers to the universe." He turned back to Seifer while Irvine snorted in amusement. "Maybe she just wants to meet everyone, since the others are already there. Maybe she's planning to feed everyone to NORG." Seifer burst out laughing. " _I_ don't know. We'll find out tomorrow. Are you going to finish your sandwich?"

Seifer shook his head, still chuckling, and held the plate out.

"So we have a meeting tomorrow?" Irvine asked as Squall started in on Seifer's last sandwich.

Squall nodded. "We'll meet at the Ragnarok at twelve thirty."

"Okay. Good night, then."

"Good night," Seifer answered for both of them while Squall returned to his paperwork.

As Irvine headed for the lift on the far side of the administrative floor, the heard Seifer say, "I have a vague recollection of you saying you _wouldn't_ be trapped behind a desk for the rest of your life."

"This is hardly for the rest of my life."

"And if it is?" Seifer wondered as the lift pinged.

There was a long silence and Irvine held the door open, straining to hear Squall's response.

"I'll leave."

"I'll come with you."

"I know."

Irvine stepped into the lift, letting the doors slide shut behind him. He didn't want to see Seifer and Squall leave, not again. _'If it gets so bad that they're going to leave, I'll do something,'_ he swore. _'Sis is back, and Selphie and Zell will soon be here, and Quisty too, once this year's SeeD exam is over. I'm not letting my family fall apart again.'_


	8. Hold Me Without Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I sort of brought in an OC. I mentioned her, briefly, a couple chapters ago, then decided to use her because there was too much testosterone. And because I needed another person.

"I didn't think we'd ever come back here," Seifer commented as they stepped off the Ragnarok outside Balamb Garden.

"It's a lot more open than Galbadia," Irvine commented, looking around curiously. "So, this is where the elite SeeD live, huh?"

"When they're not off on missions," Seifer agreed, glancing back at where Squall was booby trapping the Ragnarok again. "What time are we supposed to at Xu's office by, again?"

"We have time," Squall replied, turning to join them.

"That didn't answer my question."

"It wasn't meant to."

Irvine shook his head as he followed the two older teens into their old stomping grounds. People stopped to stare as they walked by, and Irvine was pretty sure it had more to do with Squall and Seifer's presence then that of the large red ship behind them. _'I guess Seifer isn't the only one who didn't think he'd be returning.'_

"Look at this!" someone called from down the hall. "It's the Disciplinary Committee's main bastard and the Ice Queen, back from exile!" The group of students around the speaker laughed.

"Come running back with your tails between your legs?" someone else called.

"Don't," Squall ordered quietly, watching as Seifer's expression got more and more stormy. "It's not worth it."

"They–!"

"They are cadets," Squall commented quietly. "They'll never amount to anything."

Seifer clenched his jaw, but ignored further jeers on their way to the lift at the centre of the building.

Behind the gunbladers, Irvine was scowling, disliking the cruel comments being tossed the way of his friends. He vaguely considered bringing Valiant around and making the jokers dance a bit, but he got the sense that Squall wouldn't appreciate it. Seifer would get a laugh, but Squall would not be amused.

As soon as the lift doors closed, Seifer and Irvine relaxed. Squall didn't appear even the slightest bit fazed as he ran a card through the reader and hit the button for the third floor. There, he led the way to a regal-looking set of doors and knocked.

"Come in," a woman called from the other side.

The three teens entered the office, Irvine falling back a couple steps as the two young Headmasters stepped up to the desk and exchanged pleasantries with the woman standing there. Irvine chanced a look around the room and smiled on seeing Selphie and Zell, who were standing with a small woman who he felt he should recognise, but didn't.

"If we could all gather?" Xu requested, and the other four joined the Headmasters and Headmistress around the desk.

Seifer got a good look at the small woman and swore. " _Fuck_. What the _hell_ , Xu? Neala fucking Axton?"

Irvine gave the only A-Level SeeD a startled look, recognising her name when he hadn't her face.

Neala Axton smiled a touch grimly. "I see my reputation precedes me."

" _Fuck_ ," Seifer said again, apparently at a loss for words.

Squall touched Seifer's shoulder, gaining his attention. "Calm down."

Seifer let out a deep breath, then turned to Xu. "Well?"

Xu smiled at him. "I was looking through the incoming requests, trying to spot a good exam, which isn't easy when we're only testing a small group." Her eyes flickered towards Selphie and Zell, who were looking more than a little nervous. "I got a request in last night for some assistance at the D-District Prison: During their last submersion, they picked up a rather nasty infestation of high-level monsters. They've had to remain in the air since, to keep the prisoners from escaping, which means their own rescue teams can't reach them.

"We can reach them in the air, but it won't be fun, and I'd need to send at least three of my best SeeDs in, but most of them, save Neala, are out on assignment. Seifer, Squall, you're both capable of holding your own on the Island Closest to Hell, from what your sister said."

"Yes," Seifer agreed.

"You intend for us to go to D-District and deal with the monsters," Squall said, eyes sharp. "There's six of us and three parts to the prison, so we'd go in groups of two. I'm assuming you intend to split Seifer, Neala and myself up and partner each of us with either Irvine, Selphie or Zell, correct?"

Xu nodded. "That's the general idea. Are you willing?"

Squall and Seifer traded looks, then looked at Irvine, who grinned and patted the butt of Valiant. "I'm game."

Squall nodded. "I'll have to call Esthar and warn them that we'll be out of contact for an extended period of time, but that shouldn't be a problem. We can use Ragnarok to get to the prison." He glanced towards Neala, who was watching him with a curious expression. "Unless you had other plans."

Neala shrugged. "Not particularly, no. Ragnarok's that flying dragon you came in on, I take it?"

"Yes." Squall glanced over at Selphie and Zell. "Are you two willing to go?"

The cadets startled, then both nodded. "Absolutely!" Zell crowed.

"Chi–" Seifer started, only to be hit by Squall, who gave him a warning look. Seifer sighed. "Oh, fine. I'll refrain from calling the Chicken-wuss any names."

"You–!" Zell made an angry gesture at the taller blond, looking murderous.

Squall pinched the bridge of his nose before ordering, "Seifer, call Laguna and let him know we'll be out of contact. Zell, do all of us a favour and just _ignore him_."

Seifer shot Zell a smirk, then stepped away from the desk and pulled out his MIT to make the call.

"Estharian technology," Irvine explained to the blank looks that followed Seifer. "I don't understand it either."

Xu shook her head. "Your mission is to clean out the monsters in D-District Prison," she announced. "Once the monsters have been cleared out and the prisoners are back in their cells, the prison should be lowered and the rescue teams will handle any further clean-up. Cadets Dincht, Tilmitt and Kinneas, you will listen to the senior member of your teams." She looked between the three teens she'd named, then looked over Neala, Squall and Seifer, who was returning from his call. "SeeD Axton, Headmasters Leonhart and Almasy, you three are in charge of your teams. Use your best judgement about taking on enemies. Are there any questions?"

"One," Zell said, raising his hand slightly. When Xu looked at him, he asked, "Can I _not_ end up with Seifer?"

Xu sighed.

"Neala, you use a spear, correct? So you're something of a distance attacker?" Squall asked thoughtfully. When the SeeD nodded, he said, "Zell, you'll go with Neala. Selphie, you're with Seifer and Irvine will come with me. That gives each team both a distance and close-in fighter. Any complaints?"

"Good," Xu said when there were no complaints. "Good luck and stay safe." She held up her hand in salute and they all copied her before turning and leaving.

Outside the office, Neala stopped and held her hand out to Squall. "We weren't really introduced in there; I'm Neala Axton."

"Squall Leonhart," Squall replied before motioning to the other two with him, "Seifer Almasy and Irvine Kinneas."

"I'm Selphie Tilmitt," Selphie announced, grinning broadly.

"Zell Dincht," Zell offered, smiling a little nervously.

"Good. Let's get going." Neala motioned Squall forward. "To the dragon."

"Ragnarok," Seifer offered with a grin.

They all stepped into the lift together, Irvine hitting none-too-subtly on Selphie. Neala and Zell struck up a discussion about their team, discussing what and how they'd work together.

Seifer touched Squall's hand. "You okay?"

Squall shrugged. "I expected something like this."

Seifer considered him for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."

The lift doors opened and they all piled out, Seifer and Squall in the lead. Almost immediately, the jeering started again. Seifer was determined to not react this time, but he needn't have bothered, someone else did it for him.

As soon as Neala realised who the jeering was aimed at, she brought her spear around from where it was hooked at her back and approached the laughing students, face a thundercloud. "What are these instructors teaching you fools now? To mock your superiors like it's a game?" she spat, spinning her spear around and knocking into each of the boys' knees with the butt. Once she had their attention, she snapped, "When a Headmaster or Headmistress goes by, you _salute_!"

"There ain't no Headmasters or Headmistresses here, lady," One of them spat, rubbing at his knees. "And who the fuck you think you are, beating up on SeeD cadets?"

Neala was _not_ impressed. "I am SeeD A-Level, Neala Axton," she informed them, eyes hardening as they all gaped at her. "And _they_ –" she pointed behind her with her spear at where the others had stopped to watch, "–are the Headmasters Squall and Seifer from Esthar Garden. Now, what are you _supposed_ to do when you see a Headmaster or Headmistress?"

The cadets turned to give the two Headmasters disbelieving looks, but when Neala raised her spear in threat, all quickly jumped to a salute, calling, "Sirs!"

Squall and Seifer considered the line of students for a moment, then turned and continued to the entrance of the Garden, refusing to acknowledge them.

"I have been wanting to do that since we got here," Irvine told Neala when she joined them in following the two teens outside, "but if I had done anything, Squall would have had my head."

"I don't know why they let it go," Neala muttered, refastening her spear to her back as they walked.

"It's–" Zell coughed when they all turned to look at him. "People don't like Seifer, 'cause he's always been a bully, and Squall never bothered with people. They've always been called names, and after up and leaving a month ago, well..."

Neala frowned at the backs ahead of them. "They left without a word?"

"Squall took our foster sister to see her uncle," Irvine offered. "Seifer followed them and they ended up staying in Esthar. At least, that's what they told me when I ran into them in Deling City a couple weeks ago."

"Hey, before Squall left, he was walking around with some woman," Zell remembered. "It was sort of a big deal at the time, but then he and Seifer never came back and everyone forgot about it."

"But why didn't they come back?" Neala wondered. "Were they trying to get Esthar to finally make a Garden?"

"I don't know," Irvine admitted. "I never asked, and they never offered."

"Whoa!" Zell called as they got out from under the overhang and got their first good look at the Ragnarok. "That thing's _huge_."

"So that's Estharian technology," Neala mused.

As soon as they were close enough, Squall tossed a knife and blew his booby trap, which required that Irvine explain that, no, the console wasn't really broken and, yes, he'd done that for a reason.

Squall went ahead to start his pre-flight checks while Seifer leaned idly against a wall in the hanger, waiting for the others. As soon as they were aboard, he hit the control for the door and said, "There's only four chairs in the cockpit, so a couple of you can stand, or I can leave you in the conference room, which has an excellent view."

"I want to see the cockpit!" Selphie declared.

Zell shifted. "I'll take the conference room, if it's all the same."

"I'll stay with Zell," Irvine offered with a smile and a tip of his hat. "Ladies, Seifer, we will see you when we land. Come on, Zell."

Seifer glanced at Neala. "There's still time to follow the cowboy and Chick– ah, Zell."

Selphie giggled and Neala shook her head. "I'll join you in the cockpit, I think."

 _"Is everyone aboard yet?"_ Squall demanded through the intercom.

Seifer reached over and touched the button to respond. "Yeah, sorry. We were sorting out seating arrangements. We'll be up in a minute." He smiled at the two ladies. "This way."

As soon as they'd reached the cockpit, Selphie hurried over to one of the windows, eyes wide. "Awesome! We're flying!"

"Imagine that," Seifer replied drily, sliding into his chair next to Squall. "Are you going to need me to navigate?"

"Shouldn't." Squall shook his head. "I programmed D-District into the auto-pilot a couple weeks ago."

"Afraid you were going to have to break me out?" Seifer teased.

"Always a distinct possibility. Selphie, don't touch any of those controls," Squall added, watching the hyper-active cadet through the windows.

"What is it all for?" Selphie wondered, observing the navigation station.

"Nothing, right now," Seifer offered. "Squall had the Esthar technicians reroute all the important functions up here, since there's usually only the two of us." He turned back to Squall as Selphie continued observing the controls curiously. "Your dad said to come back in one piece, by the way."

"Of course he did. I assume he was in with the Council when you called?"

"How'd you guess?" Seifer replied drily, snorting. "They'd like us to kindly die in a fiery pit and save them the trouble of paying for our coffins."

"They didn't say that."

"No, but they were thinking it."

"And here I thought everyone loved everyone else in Esthar," Neala commented, coming up to stand behind the two Headmasters.

"Somebody fed you a load of shit, then," Seifer informed her.

"Estharians love Estharians," Squall said drily, glancing back at her. "They _occasionally_ put up with outsiders, unless those outsiders happen to carry weapons, in which case, all bets are off."

"And they're letting you build a Garden?" Neala raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"My father is the President; they didn't have much choice," Squall replied.

"They've been trying to get rid of us for almost a month," Seifer explained, rolling his eyes at Squall's simple, but misleading, comment, "but Laguna wouldn't let them. Some SeeDs came knocking and the Council realised that they were better off keeping us around for emergencies, and if letting us create a Garden kept us out of their hair, all the better. They get home-grown super-soldiers _and_ a two-person task force."

"We're here," Squall commented blandly as he turned off auto-pilot and took the controls.

Seifer leaned forward, staring down at the prison he'd only seen photos off before. "Shit, those walkways are tiny. Can you land here?" he asked, sensing Selphie joining Neala behind them.

"I can balance on one of the catwalks and we can go out through the airlock," Squall announced after a bit of consideration. "Now shut up so I can focus."

The other three held their breath as Squall manoeuvred them over one of the walkways, knocking the butt of the ship against one of the towers. He slowly shut down the engines until only the stabilisers were left, helping to keep them in balance.

"Okay. Seifer, if you'll get the others and lead them to the airlock, I'm going to switch off all power to the other entrances," Squall ordered, turning his chair to face a little-used console to his side.

Seifer stood and motioned the females out ahead of him. On his way to join them, he brushed his hand across the back of Squall's neck, making the smaller teen shudder. "I'll see you topside," he murmured before walking way.

Squall rubbed absently at the back of his neck as he finished fixing the controls, taking comfort from the line of fire magic resting there. He'd woken from a nightmare of this prison a week or so ago, so Seifer knew that he'd been tortured while held prisoner here – although Squall had refused to tell him _who_ had tortured him – and that he had nothing but bad memories of this place. But they couldn't leave; it was a SeeD level mission and they would get this done, no matter what. That was their duty, and Squall was still a SeeD in his memories, if not in reality.

Taking a deep breath, Squall wrapped himself in that sense of Seifer's magic that always remained with him and set his face. Then he made his way to the airlock, where the others were waiting. "We're moving my ship before they lower the prison," he ordered as he shut the inside door and Seifer hit the controls to the outside one. "I am not watching the Ragnarok take a nose-dive off this monstrosity."

"Agreed," Neala replied, eyeing the short drop to the platform below. "I don't suppose either of you have Float junctioned?"

Seifer and Squall cast Float on everyone and they all jumped down. They had to take on a couple of monsters once they'd landed, but they were dispatched easily enough.

Neala considered their options for a moment before suggesting, "Zell and I should be able to get past the Ragnarok, so we'll take that tower over there. Squall, Irvine, why don't you take this tower so you can get to the Ragnarok as soon as you're done. Seifer, Selphie, the last tower."

"Keep in mind that when the prison changes position, the walkways disappear," Squall warned before they could split up. "There should be a radio system installed in the control rooms of each of the towers, near the top. Once you've cleared your tower and all of the prisoners are back in their cells, return to that control room and check in. Once we're all accounted for, I'll move the Ragnarok and we can lower this."

Everyone nodding, they split up and made for their destinations, fighting monsters on the way if necessary.

Squall and Irvine moved steadily through their tower, taking down monsters in a rather effective combo attack where Irvine would shoot things from a distance while Squall darted in and dealt the killing blow. When they came across humans, they checked their health first, then either healed them to some extent, or left them for dead.

The only real problem they faced was the angry Malboro on the bottom floor, which hit them with a Bad Breath before Irvine could get his gun up. Squall was able to shake off the worst of the status effects, but Irvine had been hit hard with Confuse and he took a pot-shot at Squall's head.

Ice magic immediately rushed to the fore, creating a solid shield between Squall and the younger teen still on the stairs. Another flash of ice, this one more offensive than defensive, decimated the Malboro, laying it flat in a matter of seconds. With that threat taken care of, Squall focussed on casting an Esuna on Irvine while pulling the ice wall down.

"Irvine?" Squall asked carefully as the the cowboy regained his breath. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his ice magic raged, already upset about being in this place and demanding to be used again and kill, kill, kill those who had hurt Squall in the past. Ifrit was glaring it down for him, but he could only do so much, and the faint sense of Seifer's magic wasn't quite enough. _'I need Seifer. Fuck.'_

Irvine nodded. "I'm okay." He glanced up at his leader and frowned at the strained lines on his face. "Squall, you okay?"

Squall gave a jerky nod. "I just want to get out of here," he managed, starting back up the stairs to the upper levels. "Let's make sure all the prisoners are shoved in their cells and return to the control room."

Squall was quiet and grim-faced on their way back upstairs, splitting his attention between his magic and helping Irvine with the prisoners. By the time they'd reached the top again and Irvine was fiddling with the radio, Squall and Ifrit had managed to mostly strong-arm his magic back into place, though it churned angrily at being denied its vengeance on the building.

 _"This is Selphie and Seifer,"_ the intercom crackled with Selphie's voice. _"Our tower is clear."_

"Good to hear your lovely voice, Selphie, darling," Irvine cooed.

 _"Flirt later, Irvine,"_ Seifer ordered. _"Squall, are you there?"_

Fire magic sparked at the back of Squall's neck and he relaxed a bit, his magic soothed by Seifer's voice as much as he was. "Yeah, I'm here. We're just waiting on Neala and Zell."

Speak of the devil: _"Zell and Neala here. Did someone say my name?"_ Zell called, laughter in his voice.

 _"Good, we're all here. Squall, we'll give you ten minutes to move the Ragnarok,"_ Seifer said. _"Irvine, I think we need operators at each tower to move this, so you'll have to stay behind."_

"Sure thing," Irvine agreed, watching in concern as Squall hurried from the room. He _really_ didn't look good, although he'd seemed a bit better once Seifer had spoken. _'Was he just worried about Seifer, then? Or is there something else...?'_

Once they had submerged the prison, the five team members met back up outside. Seifer looked worried and he quickly asked, "Where's Squall?"

"He hasn't come out of the Ragnarok yet," Irvine offered, waving towards the ship nearby. "He didn't look too good when we got back up, either. I figured it was best to just let him catch his breath back."

"Thanks, Irvine," Seifer said with enough sincerity to catch the cowboy off guard. "I'll go check up on him." He dashed off towards the ship.

"Did Squall choke?" Neala asked, disbelieving. The teen was too collected, too hard to have choked on such a simple mission.

Irvine shook his head. "We came across a Malboro at the bottom and I got Confused. I think I might have tried shooting him – not sure – but he looked unharmed when he hit me with an Esuna. The Malboro was pretty dead, too, but he didn't look all that great. I guess the Malboro must have got him with something after all. We managed fine on the way back up, though." He paused and considered her assessing expression. "This isn't just about testing Zell and Selphie, is it? This is to test Seifer and Squall and me, too."

Neala shrugged. "Yes. The Heads aren't all that comfortable with having a couple of ex-cadets run a Garden, no matter how good they are. Since Xu was already agreeing to run an early test for Selphie and Zell, she decided to test you three as well." She narrowed her eyes. "You're not lying to me to protect Leonhart, are you?"

Irvine glared at her. "Squall isn't the sort to just up and fuck up. He works through whatever's bothering him on his own; always has. He looked like absolute shit after we faced that Malboro, but he still climbed up with me and helped get the prisoners back into their cells. He didn't _choke_ , and I wouldn't _lie_ about that, either."

Neala let out a faintly amused sound. "I believe you, Kinneas, calm down. I just needed to be sure. I know you two are close, and I can't go back to Xu without knowing for certain that you're not covering for him."

Irvine sniffed. "Whatever."

"Do you...think it's okay to go after them?" Selphie asked in the silence. "I'm worried about Squall."

"Alright. The clean-up crews shouldn't need us for anything," Neala agreed, turning to lead the way back to the Ragnarok.

-0-

As soon as Seifer got on the Ragnarok, not even caring whether the others followed him or not, he turned towards the conference room, where his magic was telling him Squall was. He'd felt the moment, in the prison, when Squall's magic had gone a little haywire, but he hadn't been able to do anything, having been dealing with a particularly difficult prisoner at the time. By the time he'd had a moment to catch his breath, they had made it back up to the top of the tower.

Squall had sounded a little strained over the intercom, but his magic had calmed down considerably against Seifer's skin, and there was still not a lot he could do to help the younger teen, not in the middle of a mission.

 _'I can do something now,'_ Seifer reminded himself as the door to the conference room slipped open. "Squall?"

"Up here," Squall said from the front of the room.

Seifer walked towards the voice and was surprised to find Squall sitting in a niche above the large windows, looking tired but mostly like himself. "How the hell did you get up there?"

Squall's lips twitched with a faint smile. "Magic. Hold on, I'll be down in a sec–"

"Jump," Seifer ordered.

Squall gave him an odd look. "Are you insane?"

"No. Jump." He held his arms up, proving his intent to catch the slighter teen.

Squall sighed, but obediently pushed himself away from the ledge, eyes closed. He felt Seifer catch him and couldn't help but melt against the taller gunblader, his magic finally calming down the rest of the way at the familiar feeling of Seifer's arms around him. He pressed his face against Seifer's chest, murmuring, "Thanks."

Seifer smiled and rested his cheek against the top of Squall's head. "What happened?"

Squall was silent for a moment before offering, "We ran into a Malboro and it Confused Irvine, so he tried to shoot me. My magic jumped in to save me, but it...didn't want to stop saving me. That... that place hurt me, and it wanted to destroy it. It didn't much care to listen to reason, so Ifrit and I sort of had to shove in in a corner and sit on it. I... it calmed down a lot once I was on the Ragnarok."

"So I don't need to take you down to the showers and fuck you against the wall?" Seifer teased.

Squall responded by poking him in the side with an icy finger.

Seifer winced at the cold, but placed a kiss against Squall's hair and said, "I guess that's a no to the shower sex?"

"Pervert."

"I'm a _guy_ ," Seifer reminded him. "With fully functioning guy parts."

"I can solve that problem for you," Squall offered, looking up with amused blue eyes.

Seifer rolled his eyes and stole a kiss. "So you keep saying," he whispered against Squall's lips before kissing him again.

Squall grunted and reached up to grasp at Seifer's hair, tugging just hard enough to get Seifer to open his mouth so he could slip his tongue inside. He loved how hot Seifer's mouth always was, warmed by his magic, and how the taller teen would moan when Squall twined their tongues together, letting his colder magic seep out and soothe the heat. He loved how one of Seifer's hands would always stroke his back in time with their tongues' movements, making his whole body tingle with the hot magic.

The sound of the door of the conference room broke through to them and they both turned to glare at the quartet who stood there. Zell's whole face was flushed while Neala looked almost amused and Selphie was grinning quite widely.

Irvine just shook his head and asked, "Are you ready for us to head back to Balamb, or do you need another couple minutes?"

"We could fly Ragnarok ourselves and you two can keep going!" Selphie chirped, making Zell moan and turn away.

Seifer snorted and eased his arms away from Squall. "Feel free to try; Squall locked the controls to his DNA last week."

"Technically, they're locked to your DNA as well," Squall commented drily, taking a moment to straighten his shirt.

"I thought you said I'm not allowed to fly the Ragnarok."

"You're _not_." Squall retorted, shooting the blond a glare. "But if something happens to me, someone needs to be able to pilot her home."

Seifer scowled at the idea of something happening to Squall, but with the lifestyles they lived, nothing was certain. "Fair enough," he allowed before motioning towards the door, where the others were still standing, watching the two with varying expressions. "Come on. Before Selphie insists on a show."

Squall snorted and stepped confidently towards the gaggle of onlookers, all of whom obediently moved out of his way.

" _Could_ we have a show?" Selphie wondered as Seifer joined them in the doorway.

"Please, no," Zell requested.

Seifer waggled his eyebrows at the shorter blond. "Jealous, Chicken-wuss?"

Zell immediately started shadow-boxing in his direction in response, looking quite ticked off.

Selphie tugged on Seifer's sleeve. "Stop calling him names or I'm telling Squall," she ordered.

Seifer sighed. "No shows," he told her. "Unless they're gunblade spars." He grinned a bit. "We do those often enough."

"With which gunblades?" Selphie wondered, eyebrows waggling suggestively. Zell stopped shadow-boxing to cover his face with his hands.

Seifer laughed and drew Selphie into a half-hug. "I knew there was a reason I liked you. Come on, might as well go up top."

They all took the lift up to the cockpit – Zell insisted he was only going because he hadn't seen it yet when Irvine teased him about following Seifer's orders – just in time for the engines to start. Seifer tossed himself in the co-pilot chair and turned it to grin at them while Selphie plopped into her own chair, Irvine leaned against a wall, Neala considered the two Headmasters with sharp eyes and Zell looked around in awe.

Squall quickly raised them above the prison and set the auto-pilot coordinates before turning his chair to shoot Neala a blank look. "Since I very much doubt Seifer and I will be allowed into Xu's office when you give your report on all of us, would you prefer our assessments now?"

Neala's lips curled with a smile. "Now, why wouldn't you be allowed in with me?"

Seifer snorted. "Yeah, because Martine, Angelica, and Xu would really let a couple of drop out cadets run a Garden. I've taken enough of these exams to know what sort of level they're at; the only reason you'd need higher levelled SeeD is because the prison was raised, and with the Ragnarok, that wasn't an issue."

Neala shrugged and settled herself into the other chair. "I told Xu you wouldn't fall for it." Her eyes flickered towards Irvine. "Any of you. Cadets, out; Selphie, I'll talk to you before we land."

Irvine, Zell and Selphie all saluted, then took the lift down without complaint.

Neala leaned back. "Squall, how was Irvine?"

Squall considered that for a moment before quietly reporting, "He's excellent at working with a team, for all that his sniper training tends to lend him more of a loner attitude. We agreed early on that he would take a shot from a distance, using some Dark Ammo he'd picked up, and I would attack close while the enemy was still reeling with status afflictions. He only missed one shot, and he managed to get another shot off before I reached the opponent."

"And during the Malboro?" Neala wondered neutrally, watching his face.

"Neither of us were expecting it. Irvine doesn't junction, so he was vulnerable to its Bad Breath and it Confused him. It happens to the best of us." He shrugged. "The trip back up involved a lot of kicking moaning prisoners back into their cells; simple enough."

"Irvine thought he might have shot you," Neala pressed. "Did he miss?"

Squall's gaze turned icy. "His aim was true, but I junction Auto-Protect." He pressed his lips together, signalling the end of that line of questioning.

Neala silently agreed by turning to Seifer. "How did Selphie do?"

"She's not particularly strong, less so while using her nunchakus, but her magical strength is phenomenal. I traded her some high-level magic and had her stay back, attacking from a distance. Despite never having used anything better than a Fira before, she managed very well. She followed my orders without pause, ducking out of the way when a Thrustaevis managed to get past me and tried hitting her." Seifer's expression, which had been blank up 'til that point, lightened with a faint smile. "She also managed to sweet-talk a prisoner that was giving us trouble back into his cell."

"What sort of magic did you give her?" Neala wondered.

"A handful of Ultimas, about two dozen Meltdowns and fifty Firagas." He shrugged at her amused look. "I don't use magic much, and we–" he motioned between himself and Squall, "–pick more up often enough that it's no problem to trade them off."

"You said she handled them fine? Even the Ultima?"

"She cast... three Ultimas," Seifer reported, looking thoughtful. "The first one was a little off, but the other two were fine. _Much_ better than my first attempt with them." He glanced at Squall, whose eyes lit with amusement at the memory of Seifer hitting _himself_ with the spell. "Don't even."

Squall snorted. "Rookie."

"Asshole."

Neala shook her head and stood. "How long until we reach Balamb Garden?"

Squall turned his chair back around and considered their coordinates. "You've got about fifteen minutes. Feel free to send Zell and Irvine up here while you're talking to Selphie."

"Very well. Gentlemen." Neala shot them a salute, which they returned, before taking the lift down.

"Not that they have much choice but to let us be Headmasters," Seifer commented drily.

"They can make life difficult for us if we don't meet their expectations," Squall pointed out, glancing at the other teen. "And neither of us want to deal with both the Council _and_ Garden taking shots at us."

Seifer sighed. "I know."

The lift sounded and Zell and Irvine stepped out. Irvine dropped into the comm chair and pulled out a magazine from under it. "Sis?" he asked with a grin, waving the fashion magazine around.

"How _ever_ did you guess?" Seifer replied drily before glancing over at the awkward Zell. "You got a problem Chick– Zell!" he corrected when Squall whipped out a knife and held it to Seifer's throat. "It's hard to stop, okay? I'm _trying_."

Squall gave him that really creepy smile that always made Seifer want to curl up in a ball and die of fright. "I'm just giving you extra motivation."

"You wouldn't really kill him, though," Zell commented, still looking a little awkward. "Not if you two are, like, dating. Right?"

"He wouldn't kill me," Seifer agreed as Squall finally slipped the knife away, "but he'd stab me a couple of times and let me bleed a bit before he healed me."

"Is our relationship a problem, Zell?" Squall asked neutrally as he turned to look at the younger fighter.

"Erm... No?" Zell scratched the back of his head. "Maybe?"

"Because it's 'wrong'?" Seifer asked, a snarl curling his lip at one end.

Zell shook his head. "No. Because, uhm..." His eyes darted back and forth between the two gunbladers. "You two have always...hated each other. I thought."

"Hate each other?" Irvine asked, disbelieving. "Drive each other up the wall, sure. Challenge each other, yeah. But _hate_?"

"We neither liked nor hated each other," Squall reported. "Circumstances became such that we started a relationship." He turned back to the console. "Whether you accept it or not is up to you, Zell. I only request that it stays within Garden."

At Zell and Irvine's frowns, Seifer offered, "The Council of Ministers is not accepting of gay relationships. At all. If they find out about it, they very well might hire someone to kill us while we're sleeping, or at least kick us out of the country."

" _What_?!" Irvine jumped to his feet. "Those no-good– Hyne-damned– fucking–"

"I think he hates them more than you do," Squall interrupted, glancing at Seifer.

"We appreciate the support, Kinneas," Seifer said drily, "but, really, leave the arguing and death threats to Squall. He's not likely to actually go through with them, and he makes them sound so lovely."

"Get a _room_ ," Zell snarked.

"He means I have more diplomacy skills in my little finger than he does in his whole body," Squall commented.

Zell shook his head. "Squall, man, no insult meant but, uh, I was _in_ your diplomacy class, okay? You _suck_ at diplomacy."

"There's a difference between being forced to be polite to people in a classroom setting and being forced to be polite to people who are holding a gun to your head," Seifer commented.

"I suppose..." Zell agreed uncertainly as the lift sounded.

"What if _they_ started mysteriously vanishing in the night?" Irvine asked.

"We're not killing the Council," Squall said, giving the cowboy a sharp look. "There would be little question as to who had done it and our relations with the city are shaky enough as it is. If you can find a legit, blood-free way of getting them out of our hair, please, I'm all ears, but for right now, they are our masters and we have little choice but to put up with them. Do I make myself clear?"

Irvine looked away. "Yeah."

Zell cleared his throat. "What if, uhm..." He withered a bit under Squall's cold glare, but put on a brave face and asked, "What if they found out about you two and sent an assassin?"

"First off," Seifer offered drily, "if an assassin manages to make it through Garden and to our apartment, I think that would be the _least_ of our problems. _If_ such an eventuality were to occur, the assassin wouldn't make it close enough to kill us, so it would hardly matter."

"I mean, if they tried that, wouldn't you have just cause to retaliate?"

"For a dead assassin?" Seifer wondered.

"We're not fighting the Council," Squall snapped. "We're not threatening them, we're not retaliating against them, we're not even discussing this any more. _All contact with the Esthar Council of Ministers will go through me first._ Is that clear?" Icy grey eyes looked between Zell, Irvine, Seifer and Selphie until each of them had nodded.

Neala raised an eyebrow at him. "How far away are we?"

Squall turned back to his controls, flexing his fingers against the ice that had formed inside his gloves. "Another couple minutes."

The next couple of minutes passed in absolute silence while the three cadets traded looks, Selphie wanting to know what had happened, but none of them willing to talk about it where Squall might hear. Seifer had set about polishing Hyperion while Neala watched the three cadets with a faintly amused look and Squall glared at his console.

As soon as they had landed and were heading towards the building, Selphie turned wide eyes on Neala and asked, "You won't need any of us, right?"

Neala shrugged. "Xu will probably want Squall and Seifer there for part of the meeting, but you three are certainly welcome to disappear until we call you over the intercom."

"Excellent!" Selphie slipped her arms into both Irvine and Zell's arms and insisted, "Zell is going to show us around Balamb!"

"I am?" Zell wondered a bit dumbly.

"Have fun," Seifer called as Selphie dragged the two boys with her away from the lift.

In Xu's office, the three gave their brief report on the mission, then Seifer and Squall were asked to wait outside while Neala gave her assessment. As soon as that was done, the two gunbladers were called back in and they all took seats.

"From what Neala tells me, everyone performed admirably," Xu started, leaning back in her chair. "I will admit that I'm a little leery of sending Zell out to help take charge of a Garden, as young as he is, but if you're sure you want him..."

"We need _some_ youthful energy on the staff," Seifer commented drily. "As you may have noticed, neither Squall nor myself are much for fun; Selphie and Zell should be able to help with that a lot. Esthar isn't a military nation, by any means, so having a couple of fun people on staff is probably the best thing we can do for them."

"I agree that Zell is young and perhaps a bit immature," Squall offered quietly, "but he was going to take the SeeD exam this year anyway, and if he's passed it now, he would have passed it then." He shrugged. "We all have to start somewhere, even if it means running a Garden in a hostile country."

Xu grimaced, eyes slanting to her own paper-covered desk. "I suppose you have a point." She rubbed tiredly at her eyes. "Will you require Balamb to handle your SeeD salaries? SeeD don't usually go to work at one of the other Gardens, but when it _does_ happen, we usually handle it case-by-case."

Seifer and Squall traded looks, then both shook their head. "The Council has given us more than enough money to manage Garden with," Seifer explained. "We should be fine covering the salaries without dipping into your own funds. If there does come a point when we don't have the funds to pay our staff, we'll consider renegotiating."

"Laguna would chip into his own fortune before he let us negotiate salaries with Balamb Garden," Squall added drily. "I doubt it will be an issue."

"For all that the Council hates you, this Laguna fellow certainly seems fond of you," Neala commented. "He sounds quite important, actually."

"Laguna Loire," Seifer offered. "He's the President Elect of Esthar and Squall's father."

There was a moment of surprised silence at that, then Xu shook her head and said. "I'll call the other three up here. Hold on..."

Once the other three had tumbled in, each holding a hot dog in one hand and managing sloppy salutes through their grins – the four who had been in the room weren't certain they wanted to know – Xu stood and said, "After careful consideration, Balamb Garden has agreed to bestow the rank of SeeD on the following cadets–" her eyes flickered towards Seifer and Squall's relaxed forms, "– and ex-cadets: Seifer Almasy, Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas, Squall Leonhart and Selphie Tilmitt. Congratulations, SeeDs."

Squall and Seifer stood from their seats to join the other three in performing the salute.

Xu held out a pile of papers she'd been working on a bit while she'd been speaking with Seifer and Squall. "Hand these out, would you, Neala?"

Neala handed their paperwork out and all of them bent their heads down to consider their scores. Squall raised his eyebrows at his own SeeD level of twenty-five, then traded papers with Seifer to find he'd received the same. They both turned to Xu with identical dubious expressions.

Xu laughed and shook her head. "You got Esthar to open their borders, even if it's just to Garden, and managed to _create_ a Garden in their country, which we've been trying to do since Garden was founded. Maybe those weren't official missions, and maybe you didn't go in intending those results, but I believe that you've earned those ranks."

"If you say so..." Seifer agreed, folding his sheet up and moving to slip it into a pocket.

Selphie grabbed for the paper before he could fully slip it away, asking, "Well? I'm rank eight! Zell is rank seven and Irvine's rank nine! Now you know ours, so you have to tell us yours!"

Squall let out a snort. "Twenty-five."

"Whaat?! That's _awesome_!" Selphie declared, doing a little dance with Seifer's arm. "We should have a _party_!"

"Hey, Laguna would _love_ that idea!" Irvine called, grinning.

"We'll see," Squall said, expression blank.

Zell cleared his throat, hand raised ever so slightly. When everyone turned to him – Selphie stopping her dance, but still holding Seifer's arm – he asked, "So, if we're going to be working in Esthar, does that mean we'll be called to go on SeeD missions like a normal SeeD?"

Xu shrugged. "Instructors at Balamb Garden with SeeD credentials don't get called to go on missions unless we need someone with their skills, specifically. If we have a need for one of you, I'll put the request through to Squall and he'll let me know if it's possible at that time." She looked at Squall. "Is that acceptable?"

Squall nodded. "That should work fine. Although, I may be handing you over to Seifer for contact. It depends on how much time the Council demands of me once we're fully in session."

"That's fine. As long as I can reach one of you."

Seifer gently tugged his arm out of Selphie's hold and turned to their newest staff members. "Selphie's things are probably still packed, how about you, Zell?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I packed most of my stuff yesterday, since I didn't have to go to class. You want to leave now?"

"If possible," Seifer agreed. "My desk resembles Xu's, and I'd like to return to it before the paperwork breeds any further."

Irvine snorted. "Seifer, your desk only looks so bad because you have no organization. Squall probably has more work to do."

Squall shrugged. "Probably."

"Whatever!" Seifer rolled his eyes. "Selphie, Zell, get your things. Are you going to need help carrying stuff?"

"Nah." Zell waved a hand at that. "Most of my stuff's still at my mom's house in Balamb."

"I will!" Selphie called, running back over to Irvine and slipping her arm in his. "Irvine will help me!"

Irvine dropped his hat on her head. "So I will, darlin'."

Selphie giggled.

"We'll meet you at the Ragnarok," Squall decided. "Do _not_ try to open the hanger door by yourself."

Irvine shuddered. "Not a _chance_."

Once the three had hurried out, Seifer and Squall turned back to Xu, who looked a bit like she'd wanted to say something. She offered them a faint smile and said, "If you have trouble with your Council, know that we're willing to back you up. Neala tells me you have no intention of starting a fight with them, but we can always send you one of our best diplomats, if it comes to that."

Squall frowned and started to open his mouth, but Seifer settled his hand on the slighter teen's shoulder and said, "Thank you, Xu. We'll keep that in mind."

Xu nodded. "Balamb Garden will always welcome you with open arms, even if you _did_ send Cid into a nervous breakdown."

"That was _not_ my fault," Squall insisted. "He's just insane."

Seifer snorted. "Come on, Squall, let's go before you actually insult someone."

"Says the man who's always calling our new staff members names," Squall retorted, letting himself be led from Xu's office. "And weren't you the one who almost set Minister Amick on fire?"

"He deserved it."

The door fell shut behind them and Xu and Neala traded looks. "Think they'll be okay?" Neala wondered.

Xu shook her head. "I don't know how they've survived as long as they have."

-0-

Laguna managed to talk Squall into landing in Esthar and coming by the palace to have the required party. There was a minor debate about whether or not it would be proper to take their weapons into the city – Selphie, Zell and Irvine insisted it would be fine, since they were already in the city and there wasn't anywhere to leave them, but Seifer and Squall were _quite_ adamant that all weapons be left on the Ragnarok, including hidden knives (and they knew how to spot those, so no one, not even themselves, got away with it) – but they eventually made it out of the Airstation and started towards the palace, Selphie and Zell in awe about everything.

"I thought you said the Estharians didn't like you two," Irvine commented as they were stopped by yet _another_ person wanting to greet the two gunbladers.

"The Council doesn't like us," Seifer corrected. "The people themselves, however, generally like us. We spent a week wandering the city and just talking to people, and once they found out that Squall was their president's son, well..." He grinned.

Irvine nodded. "I see. So it's really just the Council we have to be cautious about."

"Be cautious about everyone," Squall suggested. "Just because they're willing to accept Seifer and me into their society doesn't, necessarily, mean that they'll accept _everyone_. Or even that we'll always remain on their good sides."

"Does he _always_ put a damper on things?" Irvine wondered.

"Yup."

Squall rolled his eyes and offered a wave to the guards surrounding the palace. They had to drag Selphie and Zell down onto the seat into the palace and Seifer got a good laugh out of seeing the two of them freak out a bit when the seat levitated.

On their way to Laguna's wing of the palace, they ran into Minister Antonios, who frowned a bit and called, "I see you've multiplied. Should we worry about an invasion next?"

"Laguna requested our presence," Squall replied evenly while the others scowled. "And you never said we weren't allowed in the city or, for that matter, in the palace. If you feel the need to amend that oversight, we're willing to discuss it, but I believe those Estharians who have decided to join Garden will be most displeased when they can no longer get back to their families."

Antonios narrowed his eyes. "None of your students will need to get into the palace; perhaps we'll just bar your kind from here, then. We don't need _murderers_ in our halls."

Squall raised an eyebrow as Seifer grabbed Zell's shoulder to keep him from giving the Minister a piece of his mind. "I very much doubt that Laguna would approve something like that, but you're welcome to try. Moreover, Madam Stavola's daughter applied to Garden, so at least one of 'our kind' will want to return to the palace to visit her family."

Antonios sneered at them and stalked away, no proper comebacks coming to mind.

Squall glanced back at the group behind them, taking note of the angry looks all of them sported. "Yes," he decided as he started again for Laguna's wing, "I believe I'm the best choice to deal with the Council."

"How can you take their insults so calmly?!" Zell demanded, jumping forward to give Squall a narrow-eyed look.

Squall glanced down at him. "I don't," he replied, startling the shorter teen. "I simply choose to not lose my temper over words."

"That, and he imagines murdering them in his free time," Seifer added with a smirk.

"No, Seifer, that's what _you_ do," Squall returned, stopping in front of Laguna's office. "Right. You're all SeeD, now behave like it." He pushed the doors open.

The sounds of poppers went off and they were quickly covered in glitter and streamers. "Congratulations on making SeeD!" Laguna and Ellone shouted, grinning. Beyond Laguna, Kiros was shaking his head helplessly. Raijin, Fujin and Ward had helped with the poppers.

Squall sighed and covered his face with his hands.

"Hi, everyone!" Ellone called, hurrying up and grinning as she gave Squall a quick hug. "Stop looking so frowny, Squall."

"...don't I know you?" Zell wondered, looking at Ellone oddly.

"Yeah! You're Sis!" Selphie exclaimed, hurrying forward to greet her long-lost sister. "I remember you!"

Seifer settled a gentle hand on Squall's shoulder as Zell and Selphie were introduced around by an enthusiastic Ellone. "You knew they were going to do this," he pointed out.

"I know." Squall shook his head and gave the blond a faint smile. "There goes that evening working on our paperwork. We're probably going to end up crashing at the palace tonight, knowing Selphie and Laguna."

"Oh, good. I like sleeping in that room." Seifer gave Squall a lecherous smile.

"I will freeze your balls off," Squall whispered, turning to face Seifer properly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Seifer took a quick glance around the room to ensure that no Council members or guards were there, then bestowed Squall with a gentle kiss. "Now, lighten up. This party is for you, too."

Squall huffed a bit, but let himself be led over to where everyone was congregated. "I don't do parties," he muttered.

Seifer rolled his eyes and tugged a bit harder until they were in the throng and Squall was distracted by an overly-excited Laguna and Ellone. Squall might not do parties, but everyone else certainly did, and they weren't about to let Squall be left out, no matter his feelings on the matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% about how D-District works, but it didn't make a shit-load of sense in the game, anyway, so... I made it up.


	9. Diebus Fatalibus ~ Fated Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no shame, I will admit: I took a pot-shot at Rinoa. (And it felt _wonderful_.)

With three new staff members, Squall and Seifer were able to hand off some of their duties. Selphie was given the decorators from Esthar, who immediately adored her bouncy personality, and told to furnish the place – Squall had been a little worried about what they'd end up with, but Selphie had good taste, and none of it was too insane. Zell was given orders to see to the cafeteria and the lists of possible chefs, which meant he spent a lot of time in the city, sampling dishes.

Irvine and Seifer took on the hiring of instructors and other necessary members of staff, including a nurse, librarian, and various security members to patrol the halls in the evenings and watch the entrances. Squall took on the lists of student names, crossing each of their applications with the Esthar databases that Laguna had given him access to and refusing those he found lacking. He also ended up going into the city at least once a week to argue with the Council about some new asinine attempt on their behalf to limit Garden's rights as a part of Esthar. (He always returned from those meetings in a particularly foul mood and Seifer was the only one willing to approach him until he'd calmed down.)

Ellone appeared during their second week with a skeleton staff and informed her siblings that she would be in charge of the library and to point her to a dorm room for her things. The next day, Laguna had called in a minor panic because Ellone had disappeared and Squall, who had received the call, ordered his father to call _Ellone_ , not him and hung up on him. Then he'd proceeded to hunt down his sister and tell her off for not letting Laguna know what she was up to.

Sometime during all that, Squall had requisitioned MITs for all his new staff, including one for Quistis, which she would receive when they picked her up. He suffered through about a day of the three calling one another on their new toys – including both himself and Seifer a few times – before he informed them that if they didn't stop, he was sending the damn things back. (They listened, but ten minutes after that order, Laguna called to ask Squall how things were going and he'd thrown his MIT across the room, followed closely by many shards of ice. Seifer had only laughed a little bit before calling the scientists and telling them Squall would need a new one.)

A little over a week before the official SeeD exam, the first fifty students arrived. Squall had originally intended to invite in half that, especially with Quistis still in Balamb, but their staff was certain they could manage fifty. (Actually, they were certain they could manage one hundred, but Squall had to put his foot down somewhere.)

With students in the building and the staff vacancies filled for the moment, Squall and Seifer found a fair bit of free time on their hands. Sure, they still had meetings with the staff or the Council, and they had to be somewhat on hand for emergencies, but with the MITs and the Ragnarok, 'on hand' meant not going any farther than the Island Closest to Heaven for their training and staying relatively close to the ship, which they did.

The night before the exam – likely immediately after Xu had received the plea for assistance – Seifer received a message from Balamb asking if they wanted to attend the SeeD ball.

" _No_ ," Squall said as soon as Seifer asked.

"Selphie will want to go, and probably Irvine," Seifer continued, smirking just the slightest bit as Squall glowered at him. "Zell might enjoy seeing his friends again."

"Then _you_ take them!"

"You'll leave me to dance with some pretty thing in heels? You know I can't control my libido."

"I'll fix that for you," Squall growled, standing and stalking over to the other teen. "Here, let me freeze your libido for a couple days–"

Seifer laughed and pulled Squall down to straddle him in the chair. "You won't come? Even for me?"

Squall scowled. "I don't like dancing, Seifer. And..." He looked away, tugging slightly at Seifer's vest. "That's where I met Rinoa. She dragged me out onto the dance floor."

Seifer soothed a hand down Squall's back. "I'll dance with you so much she'll never get the chance," he promised.

"In _public_?" Squall hissed.

"Oh, come _on_. It's _Garden_. We'd only be proving about half a dozen rumours about us right." Seifer chuckled as Squall huffed a bit. "Come on, _please_? I want to go, but I want to go with _you_."

Squall let out a helpless sound and buried his face against Seifer's neck. "I hate you," he muttered, breathing coldly against the bare skin.

Seifer shuddered and pressed a kiss against Squall's shoulder, which was uncovered by his jacket. "Does that mean you're coming?"

Squall muttered wordlessly for a moment, then allowed, "I suppose." As Seifer's magic did a little victory dance over their skin, he sat back and snapped, "But if you dance with _anyone_ else or I'm forced to dance with Rinoa, you're sleeping in the office until we've dealt with Ultimecia!"

Seifer laughed.

"I'm not joking!"

The blond leaned up and kissed Squall's chin, still chuckling. "I know. We should probably let the others know."

Squall sighed and moved to get up, only for Seifer to tighten his grip on Squall's waist. Squall raised an eyebrow at him. "We can't tell them like this."

"Sure we can."

"We _won't_ be telling them like this," Squall corrected, running cold fingers up Seifer's arms to make him let go. Once he was freed, he swooped back over to his own desk and picked up his MIT. "I'll call Irvine and Zell if you call Selphie."

Seifer sighed and picked his own MIT off his desk. "Then message Xu back?"

"If you would."

Seifer waved at him, already cradling his MIT against his ear with one hand while the other pulled over his messaging device.

Selphie was, expectedly, ecstatic about going to a dance. Zell was sort of uncertain, but he _did_ like the idea of visiting his old home. Irvine was quite pleased at the chance to dance with so many pretty women.

Xu had requested that they all dress in their SeeD uniform and arrive sans weapons. Without even discussing it, they'd each brought their weapons to leave on the Ragnarok and hidden some knives in their boots, which got a laugh from everyone – even Squall's eyes had danced with amusement.

"So," Selphie said as Squall started through his pre-flight checks, "each of you are going to dance with me, right?"

"Of course I will, darlin'!" Irvine agreed, giving her a little swing around the cockpit.

Zell shrugged when she looked at him hopefully. "Sure, I suppose."

Selphie turned to Seifer then, eyes wide and hopeful, and Seifer sighed, jerking his thumb at their pilot. "He won't let me."

Selphie leaned on the back of Squall's chair and put on her most pitiful look yet. "Come on, Squall, _please_? I want to dance with _everyone_."

Squall, quite determinedly, did not look at Selphie. "No."

"Oh, but why _not_? Don't you like me?"

Squall's left eyebrow twitched. "Because I don't want to dance," he offered in his calmest voice.

Selphie sniffled as she looked at Seifer. "He doesn't like me," she said in a heartbroken tone.

Seifer snorted, watching as Squall's eyebrow twitched again. "He's just afraid my ex will drag him out onto the floor if I'm not there to save him; she likes pretty things. Like Squall."

"Don't. Call. Me. Pretty," Squall snarled, turning to glare at Seifer.

"You have an ex?" Irvine wondered. "And you think she'll be at this dance?"

"Almost certain to be," Seifer agreed. "Like I said, she likes pretty things–"

"Can we _not_ talk about Rinoa?" Squall asked. "Isn't it enough that I'll have to put up with her at this fucking dance?"

Selphie giggled and draped her arms around Squall's shoulders, ignoring his glares. "You're so cute! How about I dance with both you _and_ Seifer at the same time? Would that be okay?"

Squall scowled at the Ragnarok controls for a long minute before grumbling, "Whatever."

Selphie let out a squeal and spun around the cockpit. "Yay!"

"Only one, though!" Squall shouted, turning to glare at her.

Selphie danced back over and dropped a kiss on his cheek. "I know. Thank you, Squall."

"Can I get a kiss?" Seifer wondered, grinning.

"Hmm. I don't know." Selphie pretended to think about that for a bit while Squall returned his attention to the controls, grumbling wordlessly. "Just a quick one!" Selphie decided and leaned over to press a kiss to Seifer's cheek.

Seifer winked at her, only to get hit by an ever-watchful Squall. "What?!"

Squall levelled an unimpressed look at him, then turned away to lead them through the landing procedures.

Squall and Seifer led their party through the Garden to the ball, ignoring the stares they got from those students still out and about. Just inside the door to the ballroom, they met Xu and Angelica, both dressed sharply in their SeeD uniforms. They all traded salutes, then Selphie dragged Irvine off for a dance and Zell left them for someone he knew.

"I'm glad you could make it," Xu commented as the four of them stood off to one corner, sipping at champagne. "I was actually expecting you to turn me down." She looked pointedly at Squall.

Seifer chuckled. "He wanted to, but I talked him around."

"I don't suppose you'd agree to a dance, though," Angelica teased, offering the frowning Headmaster a smile.

Squall took another sip from his glass.

Seifer shook his head. "Sorry, Angelica, but Selphie's the only one who's talked him into a dance." He smirked faintly. "Well, and me."

Squall considered the consequences of tossing his glass at Seifer, then decided it wasn't worth the comments Seifer would give him about wanting him out of his clothes.

Angelica chuckled. "So Neala was right, you two _are_ a couple?"

"What _is it_ with women and gossip?" Seifer wondered, making both Headmistresses laugh. "Yes, we are. We're trying to keep it quiet from the Estharian Council, though."

"Neala mentioned something about assassination attempts in your sleep," Xu offered. "Sounds serious."

"They just don't like us," Squall muttered behind his glass. "They dislike homosexuality almost as much as they fear Garden. We're both."

"Well, they won't hear about it from us," Angelica promised. "Garden sticks together, SeeD even more so." She smiled. "Are you sure you won't dance with me?"

Squall levelled her with a blank look.

Seifer laughed and gently entwined his hand with Squall's free one. "Come on, before Angelica wears you down."

Squall snorted in disbelief, but set his glass on a nearby table and let Seifer lead him out onto the dance floor and away from the laughing Headmistresses.

Seifer and Squall went two dances together, ignoring the whispering around them at two _men_ on the dance floor together. Then Selphie joined them, laughing as they twirled her between them. Seifer looked like he was loving every moment, and even Squall let slip a smile when Selphie ordered him to dip her.

The two Headmasters returned to Xu and Angelica after dancing with Selphie and they discussed recent SeeD missions for a while, as well as how the Estharian students were doing.

Xu was eventually whisked off by a handsome SeeD and Seifer excused himself to use the facilities, leaving Squall and Angelica to their own devices. Angelica was just collecting them a couple more drinks when a dark-haired young woman in a short white dress walked up to the lonely Headmaster, smiling oh-so-prettily. Squall tensed when he saw her and Angelica frowned a bit.

The girl offered Squall a bright smile. "You're the best looking guy here; dance with me?"

"No," Squall replied, voice tight.

The girl's smile just widened. "Let me guess... you'll only dance with someone you like. Okay, then...look into my eyes. You're-going-to-like-me. You're-going-to–"

"Excuse me, miss," Angelica said as politely as she could while giving the girl a sharp glare, "I don't know if you're dumb or deaf, but I do believe Headmaster Squall told you _no_."

The girl straightened as she considered this information. "Headmaster?" she wondered. "So you know Headmaster Cid, right?"

"Cid is on medical leave for the foreseeable future," Angelica snapped, handing Squall the glass she got for him. "Headmistress Xu is filling his position for the moment."

"Xu?" the girl murmured.

"Rinoa?" Seifer said as he returned to them.

The girl's eyes lit and she turned to the blond teen with a big smile. "Seifer! Goodness, look at you! All dressed up and no one to dance with!"

Seifer snorted. "On the contrary, you're standing next to my date."

Rinoa blinked towards Angelica, but was startled by the quiet voice of the teen she'd just been propositioning. "That would be me, Miss Heartilly." His eyes narrowed as she turned to him. "Or, should I say, Miss Caraway."

"Wha–" Rinoa turned to Seifer, a frown marring her pretty face. "Why would you tell a Headmaster of Garden my last name? To get into his pants? Have you no shame, Almasy?!"

Seifer sighed. "Do you _really_ want to have this argument here?" His eyes flickered towards Squall, who was distracting himself with his champagne.

"I'll have this argument wherever I want!" Rinoa snapped, stomping one foot like a small child who didn't get her way.

Angelica started forward, but Squall held up a hand to stop her. "Seifer can handle her," he murmured.

"So you'll only stay with _important_ people after you've slept with them?!"

"She's _verbally attacking_ a Headmaster," Angelica hissed back. "And she's drawing a crowd!"

"Is that why you left me? Because I wasn't important enough?"

Squall just smirked, feeling no pity for what was about to happen to the girl who might have been his wife in another life.

"Rinoa, I left you because you're vapid, childish, and got on my nerves," Seifer said once she paused long enough to let him get a word in. "You're playing at being a revolutionary to get back at your father because he didn't put your mother's funeral above his own job, but you're doing it in the most weak-willed and cowardly way possible. If you _really_ wanted to punish your father, you would use his name, not your mother's, and make him an outcast in his own army.

"Your 'revolutionary group' mirrors your determination, as pathetic and serious about your 'cause' as you are. Zone is always whining about stomach pains to get out of the serious work, and Watts claims to be an expert information collector, but he never checks his facts and makes people suspicious with how unusually polite he is. Jake, Andrew, and Michael are all too busy playing Triple Triad against each other to care what you're trying to do, never mind that they all _suck_."

"You– you–"

Next to Squall, Angelica was covering an amused smile. "I guess he can."

"Oh, and the sex was really bad." Seifer put on a cocky smirk.

Rinoa moved her arm back to slap Seifer across the face, only to find her wrist held in an impossibly cold grip. She turned to glare at the person holding her, only to find the icy grey eyes of the Headmaster who claimed to be Seifer's date staring down at her. "I would very much suggest _against_ attacking my co-Headmaster in a room full of SeeDs, Miss Heartilly," he said in an icy voice. "Perhaps it's time you take your leave."

Rinoa felt her wrist going numb as she looked around for help, only to find a room full of disapproving gazes. Even the band had stopped playing to watch the scene unfold and Rinoa finally realised that she would have been better off having her argument with Seifer out of public, but she'd honestly thought she'd win; she _always_ won.

"Zell," Seifer called, catching sight of the familiar blond hair, "why don't you escort Miss Heartilly to her ride?"

Zell cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward with a nasty smile on his face. "It would be my _pleasure_ , Headmaster."

"In one piece, Zell," Squall added drily, letting go of Rinoa's wrist.

Xu, off to one side of the group and waiting to intervene if it had been necessary, motioned to the band and they quickly struck up a lively song. People slowly trickled away as Zell none-too-gently showed Rinoa out of the ballroom.

Seifer joined Squall and took his still-cold hand, absently sending his own magic to warm it up. "Okay?" he whispered.

Squall nodded. "Yeah. You?"

Seifer grinned. "Are you kidding? That felt _fantastic_."

Squall snorted.

"It's almost a pity to have scared such a pretty girl away," Irvine commented as he and Selphie joined the four Heads. "More of a pity that she was such a brat."

"That was all kinds of awesome," Selphie informed Seifer, grabbing onto his free arm and waving it around a bit, which Seifer tolerated with a roll of his eyes, used to Selphie grabbing at his arm by now. "And she _totally_ deserved it."

"She's not...a bad person..." Squall offered, grimacing at their disbelieving looks. Seifer, who knew about Squall's previous life, understood where he was coming from, but didn't offer any assistance.

"Squall, she came in here and tried to, first, verbally dress down a SeeD, then hit him," Xu offered. "Never mind that Seifer's one of the Headmasters of Esthar Garden."

Squall shifted uncomfortably. "I know. It's just..." He twisted his fingers in Seifer's grasp until Seifer tightened his grip, refusing to let go. "She's naive and spoiled, yes, but that doesn't mean she's a bad person, per say. She's..." He sighed. "Whatever."

Everyone looked at Squall a little oddly for a moment before Selphie tactfully changed the subject, asking, "So, Seifer, is the sex with Squall better than with Rinoa?"

Seifer choked and turned to give the tiny SeeD a disbelieving look while Xu, Angelica, and Irvine all laughed. Squall just grimaced and took a long swallow of his champagne.

"Well?" Selphie asked when Seifer continued to stare at her.

"He wouldn't know," Squall offered, having regained his composure before the blond.

"Whaaaat?!" Selphie leaned around Seifer to give Squall a wide-eyed look.

"He won't let me," Seifer muttered, pouting a bit.

"Seriously?" Irvine wondered. "It's been, what, at least a month? What are you waiting for? The wedding vows?"

Squall set his empty glass aside and turned to Seifer. "We're dancing," he informed the taller teen before dragging him out onto the floor.

"I'd say that's Squall's way of ending that discussion," Xu commented with a smile.

Selphie sighed and took a hold of Irvine's arm, since Seifer was gone. "I guess it's not all _that_ surprising, knowing Squall, but still..."

"It's not like they advertise their relationship," Irvine pointed out. "I don't think anyone in Esthar but us and Squall's dad know they're together. Even the rest of the staff are left blissfully unaware. This is the first time I've seen them being particularly public about it, and even still, it's just dancing. It's not like they're kissing out on the dance floor or anything."

They all turned to observe the two Headmasters. They were dancing only as close as the music dictated, moving in perfect sync, without a misstep. One could easily mistake them for a couple of friends dancing together just to get out onto the dance floor, even knowing they were together; they simply gave no obvious clues to their relationship.

"One day, they should be able to do that in Esthar," Selphie whispered. "Dancing together, or even just holding hands in public..."

"The Council won't live forever," Irvine murmured.

"We're SeeD," Selphie pointed out. "There's a very good chance they'll outlive us, even if they're all dead by the end of the year. Especially with the way Seifer and Squall are always training."

"Hey." Zell came to a stop next to Selphie, eyes joining the others' in following the two Headmasters. "I ran into Quistis outside. She said she's getting the last of her things ready and asked that one of us let her know when we're leaving."

Xu sighed. "It won't be the same without Quistis here. But..." She sighed again, making all of them look at her. "She had a really hard time this year, being an instructor. I kept trying to tell her she wasn't ready for it, but she insisted she was. If it weren't for Squall and Seifer insisting she join you lot in Esthar, I would have had to fire her tonight. I _did_ tell them that she wasn't cut out for being an instructor, but Squall seems pretty certain that she can handle it if she's teaching with students she didn't grow up with."

"I never thought I'd make a good instructor," Irvine offered, shrugging the shoulder of the arm Selphie wasn't holding captive, "especially with how young I am, but I like teaching the little brats, and they seem to like learning from me. And they _do_ learn."

"It helps that they're all younger than us," Selphie agreed. "I think the oldest is fifteen, but the others are all under thirteen."

"They're not used to having SeeDs around," Zell added. "It's a novelty to them, and they truly believe we deserve their respect. It's not like here, where you see SeeDs everyday and eat in the cafeteria with them, or piss in the latrine next to them."

"Thank you for that lovely mental image, SeeD Dincht," Xu replied drily.

Zell grinned, unrepentant. "The point is, Esthar's a good place for new instructors, and by the time they get used to having us around, they'll already have plenty of respect for us. It'll never be quite as closely knit as Balamb, and maybe things will get tougher once we set up the exchange programs, but it's not a bad Garden, for all that it's not quite a month old."

"It's home," Selphie decided.

"Good," Angelica said, smiling. "That's what a Garden should always, first and foremost, be: your home."

-0-

" _Fuck_ it's cold," Zell hissed as he, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine stole across the lawn to the waiting Ragnarok. Squall and Seifer had just called them all out there, at two in the morning, for no good reason.

The two Headmasters and Ellone stood waiting by the end of the hanger ramp, looking serious and a little sad.

"What's this about?" Quistis demanded, her teeth chattering slightly in the early morning chill.

"We're leaving on a mission," Seifer reported. "It's something Laguna set us before we started this Garden, and we can't _not_ do it."

"You should have told us to get our gear," Irvine commented.

"You're not coming with," Squall informed them, eyes icy. "This is a two-person mission. You four need to take care of Garden in our absence."

"Irvine, you're in charge," Seifer continued over their denials, "since you have seniority at this Garden; Quistis, you're second-in-command, as you have seniority as both a SeeD and an instructor. Selphie, Zell, we expect you to support them."

"If everything goes completely to shit," Squall added, eyes piercing Irvine, "there are a list of instructions in the bottom left-hand drawer of my desk. I ask that you not go in there unless there's a real emergency, but I'll hardly be here to stop you." He offered a grim smile.

"Why do you sound like you're saying goodbye?" Selphie whispered, voice choked with tears.

Ellone stepped forward and wrapped the girl in a hug. "Because there's a very large chance that this mission will kill them."

"No!" Selphie shouted, struggling against Ellone's hold. "No! _No_!"

"Selphie..." Ellone whispered, holding her little sister all the tighter.

"Elle, we need to go," Seifer said neutrally.

"I'm sorry," Ellone whispered into Selphie's hair before stepping back to join the two gunbladers, leaving Selphie to Irvine to comfort.

"Take care of Garden," Squall ordered.

"You have to come back!" Quistis snapped, eyes bright with tears. "You _have_ to!"

"You can't just leave like this!" Zell added. "What about the kids? What about this? _Everything_?"

Squall and Seifer said nothing in response, simply hit the control to close the hanger door, both grim-faced. Behind them, Ellone had turned away, hands covering her face.

" _ **No!**_ " Selphie screamed, reaching for the Ragnarok even as Irvine pulled her back, out of the way of the engines.

The four of them remained staring after the Ragnarok as it took off towards Esthar City, Selphie sobbing bitterly into the shirt Irvine had thrown on inside out when Squall had called him.

"They _have_ to come back," Quistis whispered, tears running down her cheeks.

"What sort of dad would send his own _son_ on a mission that meant his death?" Zell snarled, holding onto his anger to keep from crying himself.

"What kind of person would create a Garden and bring his family together, even knowing he's going to be going to his death soon?" Irvine asked quietly, heart aching. "They wanted to leave their mark, to be remembered. This was their home, and we're their family; it's up to us to make sure they're not forgotten."

"Those _bastards_!" Zell hissed, voice cracking as a tear slipped free. "Those fucking _bastards_."

"What are we going to tell the students?" Quistis whispered.

"That they're on a difficult mission," Irvine replied, shaking his head. "Tell them to keep thinking about them, to wish them luck, or pray for them, if that's in their belief system. Let them believe they're coming back, but don't outright say it'll happen; promise nothing." He gently pushed Selphie back and wiped his thumbs under her eyes. "We need to be strong for the students, and the other staff. This won't be easy, but this is our duty." He looked up at Quistis and Zell. "We're SeeD; this is what we signed up for. Loved ones die, but you keep on. Keep moving forward."

Quistis managed a watery smile. "No wonder Squall left you in charge."

Irvine nodded back towards Garden. "Let's figure out what we're going to say to everyone when they wake up in a couple hours."

"Good idea," Quistis agreed, gently prodding Zell towards Garden while Irvine led Selphie.

It was going to be a long morning.

-0-

"We're going to be landing by the Tomb again," Squall reported to the cockpit as he and Seifer considered their controls. "The Esthar technicians managed to install OCS panels on the hull, so we should be able to, mostly, camouflage the Ragnarok from curious observers, but we're not sure how well everything is going to work, so we're still staying away from the city."

"I was wondering what they were up to last week when she was in dock," Laguna commented quietly from his seat. He was outfitted in full battle gear, but none of them believed he would be required; he was only there to keep Ellone safe and fly the Ragnarok back once Squall and Seifer were gone, having been added to the DNA lock.

In the comm chair, Ellone twisted her skirt, wishing she could manage the same preternatural calm that Laguna, Squall, and Seifer employed, but she really just felt like a wreck. She was about to say goodbye to her two brothers, possibly for the last time, and was even the one sending them to their certain doom. But if she didn't do it...

 _"...she fired missiles on Trabia Garden and levelled it,"_ Squall's voice from over a month ago reminded her. _"...Ultimecia ended up taking over Galbadia Garden and we clashed in Centra. A...lot of people died. On both sides... ...Ultimecia's Knight had found the Lunatic Pandora and brought it to rest over Tear's Point. That started the Lunar Cry..."_

 _'I have to choose between my brothers, and the whole world,'_ Ellone knew. _'Either they die trying to save everyone, or they die because no one could stop her. It's not fair.'_

"We'll be stuck in the presidential residence for quite a few hours," Seifer commented in a monotone. "You might want to bring one of your magazines, Elle."

Ellone looked down at the pile of fashion magazine shoved under her chair and felt sick at the thought of looking at pretty dresses and accessories while her brothers prepared to die. "No," she whispered. "I'll be okay."

_'I wish you could promise me this would all turn out okay. I wish I knew for sure that you'd be back. I wish... I wish you'd look at me – either of you – and show me just a little bit of the fear I know you must be feeling! I wish I could have screamed at you like Selphie did, to beg you to, "Stop! Go back! Let someone else die!" But I know I can't. I can't ask you not to save the world, just like you can't agree to stop.'_

Squall landed them at last and they all marched out of the Ragnarok and towards Deling City, Squall pausing only long enough to lock up his ship and turn on the OCS, skipping the booby trap for Laguna's sake.

Once in Deling, Seifer led the way down into the sewers and into the presidential residence, having studied maps of the maze for the past couple of weeks during his free time. In the residence, they slipped into a cupboard near the platform Ultimecia would be giving her speech from, then settled in to wait.

Ellone didn't want to wait. She didn't want to have to think about what was about to happen, about what she was about to do to her brothers. She leaned against Laguna and took comfort in the arm he slipped around her shoulders. She took comfort, too, in the way Squall and Seifer held hands, for all that they sat apart, faces stoic masks; even if they had to go to their deaths, at least they could face them together.

Finally, it was time. They could hear the crowds screaming in the distance, and Seifer and Squall got to their feet to stretch.

"Stay here," Seifer ordered. "We'll call you out when it's time."

Ellone and Laguna nodded in understanding, and the two SeeDs slipped out to wait for Ultimecia.

They'd watched the broadcast from Timber a few days ago, but Seifer still startled a little when he saw Matron's lovely face so twisted with cruelty. _'It's not Matron,'_ he reminded himself, mentally shaking himself.

"Sorceress Ultimecia," Squall called.

Sharp yellow eyes turned to the two SeeDs waiting in the shadows and Edea's lips curled with a cruel smile. "What's this? A surprise attack in my own home?"

"We're not here to attack you, Ultimecia," Squall replied, opening his hands and proving he was unarmed, at least for the moment; the handle of his gunblade jutted out to one side behind him, easily within his reach.

"No? Then what? _Reason_ with me?" the Sorceress laughed.

"We're here to help you complete Time Compression," Squall offered. "Exactly what you want."

Her eyes narrowed, distrust flaring. "And for what? Why would I trust a couple _SeeDs_?"

"We're _not_ SeeDs," Seifer retorted, hoping against all hope that no one had thought to tell the Sorceress that he and Squall had been made SeeDs after all. "In case you haven't heard, we quit Garden almost two months ago."

"Ha!" Ultimecia sneered at them. "My Knight told me much the same thing, my children, but I did not believe him. SeeD is in your blood, your destiny." She slid towards them, her face a mask of kindness and mercy; it made a chill go down Seifer's spine and he fought the urge to just slam her with a fireball. The only ice he wanted anywhere near him was _Squall_.

"You've damned us all," a new voice moaned and the two gunbladers turned to watch Cid Kramer stumble into the room. "We're all going to _die_."

 _'Well, I guess Xu was right; he really_ has _lost it,'_ Seifer thought before returning his attention to the real threat.

"We came to offer you Ellone," Squall said firmly. "Will you take our peace offering, or do we have to fight you in our mother's body?"

Ultimecia let out a high laugh and idly flicked a finger at Cid as he gave a roar of desperation and ran at the two teens, sending him flying backwards into the wall. "You've brought Ellone? Let me see her. Prove yourselves."

Seifer knocked lightly on the door behind him, the signal for Laguna and Ellone to come out.

The door opened and the two came out, Ellone whispering, "Oh, _Matron_. What has she _done_ to you?"

Ultimecia laughed again. "Oh, very _good_ , my children. Perhaps I shall take you _both_ as my Knights. I'll rule all of eternity, with fallen SeeDs at my sides."

"We'd make _terrible_ Knights," Seifer informed her.

"Send her back," Squall ordered Ellone and the young woman quickly closed her eyes to do so. When Edea collapsed, Squall ordered, "Now just Matron."

There was a moan from Edea's prone form and her eyes, once again dark brown, fluttered open. She looked up at Squall and Seifer uncertainly as the teens rechecked their equipment and weapons: knives, some back-up guns, Hyperion and Squall's old-new Lion Heart. "My...children...?" she whispered.

"They've damned us all," Cid moaned.

"Shut up, you pathetic fool!" Seifer spat. "We haven't damned _anyone_. We can't fight Ultimecia in the now, not with her possessing people; we have to go to _her_. Through the Time Compression, if we must."

Squall turned to his father as Ellone hurried over to Edea. "Take care of Sis."

Laguna managed a shaky smile. "I will. Go get rid of that crazy bitch for us."

"We will," Squall promised. His eyes shifted awkwardly to one side before he leaned forward and hugged his father, much to Laguna's surprise. When he pulled back, he wore a faint smile. "Goodbye... Dad."

"Goodbye, Squall," Laguna whispered as Squall and Seifer entwined their fingers and the room started to melt away. "I love you..."

And then Squall and Seifer were spiralling away into nothingness, eyes squeezed shut and thinking, desperately, of the orphanage.

The final showdown with Ultimecia.

-0-

"If we get out of this alive, I'm going to tie you to our bed and fuck you until your head spins," Seifer informed Squall as they fought their way through Ultimecia's castle.

"If we get out of here alive, you can do whatever you want to me," Squall replied drily as he slammed another monster with a bolt of ice, impaling it on the wall behind it.

"Was that a promise?" Seifer shot him a lecherous smile.

"Yes. Now stop staring at me like I'm for dinner and kill something."

Seifer chuckled and threw a couple of fireballs at some approaching Oilboyles, charring them nicely. "Look! Dinner!"

Squall sighed and dragged Seifer after him as he continued moving, with certainty, towards the tower where Ultimecia resided. They'd had to take a couple detours to get the blocks off their magic, GF and item usage, as well as the ability to draw magic – Squall had informed Seifer that Ultimecia had magic they'd want – but that hadn't been much trouble, especially with Squall's memories of the place.

Finally, they stepped into Ultimecia's tower and stared grimly up at where she sat on her dais, gunblades bared.

Ultimecia bestowed fond smiles on them as she floated down to the ground. "At last, my Knights..." she whispered, reaching out for them.

"We're _not_ your Knights," Seifer spat, fire flaring in his eyes. "And we'd never _be_ your Knights."

"We're SeeD," Squall added, ice frosting his voice. "It's our duty to destroy Sorceresses, especially you."

"You said you kuwit Garden," Ultimecia hissed, jerking back.

"We did, and they took us back, gave us the SeeD exam and passed us. We're the Headmasters of Esthar Garden." Squall's eyes flashed with victory as Ultimecia reeled. "We're the _Liberi Fatali_ , the Fated Children. You will die here; whether we fall with you or not is of no consequence."

"We won't lose," Seifer added before running forward, Hyperion's blade lighting with fire as he brought it down across her chest.

Squall followed directly on Seifer's tail, delivering a similar blow made of ice from the opposite direction.

They continued to fight without falter, tossing Elixirs whenever one of them started to look tired or worn around the edges. They fought through Ultimecia, then Griever, then Ultimecia possessing Griever – Seifer finally understood why that shirt had made Squall so sick – and, finally, Ultimecia as a two-part, less-than-human creature, which they drew an impressively powerful spell from, as Squall said they could.

And through it all, they utilised a mix of Sorceresses magic, para-magic and physical attacks, ignoring Ultimecia's jeers when she'd realised that the 'Legendary SeeDs' were Sorceresses themselves.

Finally, Ultimecia let out her dying wail and Squall reached out his hand towards Seifer, reaching, reaching...

The tips of their fingers had just touched when there was nothing but darkness, the same darkness that haunted Squall's worst nightmares. "Seifer?" he called, turning around. "Sei–" His voice caught and he felt sick. _'No. Oh, please, no. No, not again. No, no, no...'_

"Seifer!" he shouted, stumbling forward. " _ **SEIFER!**_ "

There was no answer. Squall had been left behind.

Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG! That's such a cruel place to leave it, isn't it? I'm such a meanie.
> 
> I kept getting sniffly while writing this chapter; all those goodbyes... I think I might cry. (But I didn't sniffle while writing that ending. I sort of... cackled, actually. Is that bad?)


	10. Never Let You Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My only real regret about this fic was that Seifer and Squall never got their matching scars. Oh well...
> 
> For the faint of heart – or something – there's a lemon in this chapter. There's also plot both _before_ and _after_ – though mostly after, since it's fairly early in the chapter – the lemon, and I didn't mark it because I'm _still_ – and always will be – an asshole. Thanks.

"Why are you sitting like that?" a child's voice asked.

Squall glanced up to see himself standing over him, looking confused, but fidgety. He recognised the lighthouse in the distance as being from the orphanage. _'So, I ended up here again. Of course I did.'_ He uncurled his arms from where they'd been holding his knees tight to his chest and stood. "No reason," he offered to the child at his side. "Go on, go find Sis."

Little Squall's eyes widened, then he was off, running to look for Ellone some more.

 _'Never stop looking,'_ Squall thought to himself. _'Because no matter how much it hurts, it's always worth it. They're always– Fuck!'_

"Squall!" Edea's voice called and the woman herself came into view. She paused upon seeing Squall, then stepped cautiously forward, asking, "Excuse me, have you seen a little boy?

"You don't have to worry," Squall heard himself say. "That little boy won't go anywhere." _'Not until it's too late for you or anyone else to save him.'_

"I think so, too," Edea agreed, looking hopefully behind the older Squall. "Poor thing..."

Behind Edea, Ultimecia flashed into appearance and Squall reached for his gunblade on reflex, though he didn't quite draw it. "Do what you came here to do, Sorceress," he ordered her.

"I...can't...disappear yet..." Ultimecia choked, stumbling forward. "I...can't..." She froze and her mouth opened in a silent scream as her magic flared up and towards Edea.

Squall made to catch the woman who had been like a mother to him, only to find a piece of that magic streaking into him, making him grimace as it settled uncomfortably against the rest of his Sorceress magic. _'Apocalypse. Well, I_ did _want it, I suppose. Ow.'_ He shook his head and knelt next to his foster mother, who had fallen to her knees. "Matron, are you okay?" he whispered, gently brushing a lock of hair out of her face.

Edea looked up at him, eyes tired, but sharp. "You called me Matron. Who... are you?"

The words he had spoken in another life returned easily to his lips and he told her about SeeD, about Garden, about their duty to, one day, take care of Ultimecia.

Edea searched his eyes. "You're...that boy from the future?"

"...Matron," Squall whispered, because he knew he would soon be returning to that darkness. _'No, Hyne, please let me stay. Please let me stay with this family, with these people who love me. I don't want to be alone...'_

"Please return. You do not belong here."

The younger Squall returned as Squall stood. "...I can't find Sis. ...Am I...all alone?" He looked helplessly up at his older self, desperate and with eyes full of tears.

Squall managed a smile for this tiny, innocent version of himself, this child without nightmares of a future that would never happen, or one that had. "You'll never be alone, Squall," he promised as the darkness started creeping over his view of those two figures. In the background, peeking out of the house, he saw a shock of blond hair over bright green eyes, and Seifer's fire magic crept over his skin. "Never," he said again and the orphanage vanished.

Arms appeared around him and Squall sank back into Seifer's embrace, closing his eyes against tears of relief. _'Seifer, you came back for me...'_

"I remember that day," Seifer said, a strange note in his voice. "You'd just run off and I was going to follow you, but Matron told me to stay in the house. I went to peek, and Matron was talking to this strange man all covered in blood. A woman appeared, and light went from her into Matron. And into that strange man." His hand rubbed gently over Squall's heart, where Ultimecia's magic had pierced him. "That man just sort of faded away, soon after that. It was so very strange."

Squall turned in Seifer's arms and buried his face against the taller teen's vest, curling his hands against the blood-splattered coat. "I thought–" He choked and a tear slipped free. "Hyne... fuck...Seifer..."

Seifer pulled Squall's face up and gently wiped the trail of tears away before possessing Squall's mouth with intent and causing the slighter teen to melt against him, even as more tears slipped from Squall's closed eyes. "I will _never_ leave you," Seifer swore before pressing more kisses against Squall's lips. " _Never_."

"Ahn... S-Seif-er..." Squall stuttered as the kisses trailed down his jaw and neck. "F-fuck..." He let out a long moan as the skin at his throat pulled, stung a little, and then a tongue was laved over it, soothing the pain. "T-the Cou-Counc-cil... Ah!" His head fell back as one of Seifer's hands got his tee free from his trousers and stroked up his back in just the right spot.

Seifer's breath trailed up his chest, where he'd been licking a line along the Griever necklace's chain, to brush against his neck, jaw, ear... "Fuck the Council, the homophobic pricks. They'd be dead if it weren't for us." His tongue trailed around the edge of Squall's ear, making the younger teen gasp. "You promised me sex, dammit."

"I-in a b-b-be– Ah!" Squall arched as Seifer brushed his back again, all coherent thought flown out the window.

"You never specified that," Seifer informed him, laying them carefully on the nothingness beneath them. "In fact, I recall you saying I could do whatever I wanted to you." He slid his hands down past the twisted Griever pendant and blood-stained shirt to the mass of belts that always hung teasingly along Squall's ass and hips, taunting Seifer every time he had to walk behind the teen. And he did _so_ love to walk behind Squall.

Just as clarity was beginning to return to him, Squall felt an almost painful warmth against him, tempered by cotton briefs, and his head fell back, a moan ripped from his throat. Hands trailed down his thighs and over his knees, pushing his trousers slowly out of the way, belts clinking in the background. Then they were back up, sliding under his briefs and pulling them down, down...

Fire magic flared over his skin as the cotton was removed from the equation. Flames soothed over his back, stroking him the way Seifer always did and making him arch into Seifer's touch, certain that he was getting burns and not certain if he gave a damn.

Seifer's name played like a mantra in his head, driving out thought and leaving warmth and pleasure and _SeiferSeiferSeiferSeifer..._

An uncomfortable sensation drew him back from that edge of bliss, of something that Did Not Belong, pressing into him from behind. He squirmed, trying to get away from the finger, but then his magic was drawn there – manipulated like only Seifer could do – and the discomfort flared icy-cold and a Flare went off behind his eyelids, blinding him with pleasure and wringing him dry.

 _'If this is death, I'll take it,'_ he thought sluggishly.

Consciousness returned, and with it, that discomfort, but it was less discomfort and more _there_. "Wha–?" he slurred.

Lips pressed against him, gentle and warm and _Seifer_. "Thought I'd lost you for a second there," the warm breath chuckled against his lips.

Squall opened his eyes, feeling heavy and sated and so very warm. Green eyes ringed by fire smiled down at him, pupils blown against the darkness that wasn't really dark. _'Seifer,'_ he thought.

"I'm still here," Seifer whispered, pressing another kiss against his lips.

"Seif– Ahn!" Squall's head fell back as fingers curled in him and fire sparked low in his stomach.

"Found it," Seifer whispered, lips moved to Squall's ear and fire sparked in his stomach again.

The skin beneath his ear pulled as fire sparked in his stomach again, and somewhere far, _far_ in the back of Squall's thoughts, he realised that Seifer was giving him another hickey, damn him.

Seifer breathed into his ear again, and Squall couldn't help the shudder that wracked him when Seifer's tongue traced the line of his ear. "I'm going to fuck you," Seifer whispered and Squall groaned, eyes falling closed. "I'm going to fuck you," Seifer repeated as fire sparked in Squall's belly again, "and you're going to like it, Squall. You're going to like it so much, you'll ask for it again."

"Nng," Squall managed, one hand scrabbling for a hold on Seifer's arm, which rested by his head. "Sei– Ah! F-fu-ck. D-d-o eh-eh– Ahn..."

Seifer pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth before pulling away. The uncomfortable sensation in his behind vanished and Squall wished, suddenly, that it would come back; he'd got used to it, and–

Something pressed into him, so large, and Squall gasped in pain, wanting to squirm away, but Seifer's hands held his hips, keeping him in place. "Seif– Ow–"

"I know, I know," Seifer whispered, voice a little strained, and one of his hands moved from Squall's hip to his stomach, soothing lightly over it with the faintest hint of Squall's ice magic, making his stomach jump and dance. "Relax, Squall. Relax..."

Squall reached for the hand on his stomach, entwined their fingers and nodded. The pain returned, slow and torturous, but he gripped Seifer's hand, feeling the older teen grip him back just as hard. They stayed like that for a long moment until the tight, hot, _pain_ became just discomfort, Squall's own magic soothing away the burn.

Seifer pressed in and out, sparks of pain dancing up Squall's spine until Seifer twisted just right, and the heat pooled low in his belly, making him gasp and drop his head back. Seifer's lips pressed against his throat, making yet _another_ mark, but Squall didn't care any more. Because, maybe...

 _'Maybe, the more he marks me, the longer he'll stay. Oh, please, Hyne, let him stay make him stay I can't lose this I can't lose him I–'_ His breath caught and his mind stuttered to a stop as pleasure burned cold and hot and he choked on a gasp, squeezing the hand that Seifer had never removed from his as tiny Flares flashed behind his eyes, lighting up the dark nothingness around them.

When Squall's mind returned to him, he became aware of someone whispering his name against his hair, arms wrapped tightly around him. He felt over-hot, like he always did when Seifer held him, and his magic slowly tingled to the surface, cooling them both off just enough.

Seifer's mantra stopped, then he asked, "Squall?"

Squall rubbed his face against Seifer's bloody vest, uncaring for the stains of death and pain because this was _Seifer_ , and he'd put up with anything for him. Even being obnoxiously hot. "...love you," he murmured.

Seifer's breath caught and his face pressed against Squall's hair all the more, frame shaking ever so slightly.

Squall was confused – _'Is he cold?'_ – but then he felt a wet spot on top of his head and he pulled his arms out from between them so he could wrap them around his lover. "Seifer..." he whispered, "What's wrong?"

Seifer's voice was choked when he spoke, and muffled by Squall's hair, but the slighter teen understood him fine, "I almost had you, and then you looked so frightened and you were vanishing and there was nothing, not even light. I thought... I thought I'd lost you, that I wouldn't be able to help you..."

Squall looked up into the red-rimmed eyes, remembering with perfect clarity the afternoon at the orphanage, standing over the grave of the bird they'd tried so hard to save, when he learned that Seifer's greatest fear was to be unable to protect the things he loved the most. "You found me," he whispered, wiping away a line of tears. "You didn't lose me, you were there, right when I needed you the most. We're okay."

Seifer nodded and managed a strained smile. "Yeah."

Squall brushed at the tracks on the other side of Seifer's face. "We should get back. I don't..." He cast a nervous glance at the darkness surrounding them. "I don't know how long we can survive here for."

Seifer's eyes burned for a moment, his usual good-humour returning to him. "Does that mean I can get you on a bed, then?"

"Horny bastard," Squall quipped.

Seifer's expression took on a distinctly smug gleam. "I popped your cherry."

"Fuck. You."

"If you want."

Squall worked his jaw for a moment, not certain how to respond to that, before he fell back on his old favourite, "Whatever."

Seifer laughed and drew him into a brief kiss with so much feeling in it that Squall was left reeling. "Come on, let's find our trousers..."

Squall let Seifer pull him to his feet, but as soon as he tried to stand on his own, pain lanced down his lower back and he fell back into Seifer's arms, grimacing. "Ow. Fuck, ow."

Seifer shifted his hold on the smaller teen and leaned down to pull something from the sack that had landed near their trousers and boots. Finding it, he pulled the cap off and handed it to Squall before focussing on the container in his hand behind Squall.

Squall sniffed the lid and raised an eyebrow at the smell of a particularly poignant healing potion. "What is this, a Hi-Poi– Ah!" He pressed forward, against Seifer's chest, as two fingers entered his anus. "What are you– oh..." He relaxed a bit as the healing potion got to work on his behind, breath hitching when Seifer teasingly brushed his prostate. "S-sto–" He hit the blond when he did it again. "Seifer!"

Seifer chuckled in his ear and finally slipped his fingers out, running them lightly up his spine to help with the lingering pain there before stealing the lid back and recapping it. "All better."

"I couldn't have just _swallowed_ it?" Squall demanded, taking a step back and pleased to find he could take his own weight again with very little difficulty.

"This way was more fun," Seifer assured him, slipping the jar away before reaching for his pants and trousers.

Squall grumbled wordlessly, but hunted down his own clothing. His jacket had been pulled off at one point and putting it back on reminded him of the marks on his throat and under his ear. He felt inexplicably warm when he touched the largest one, over his jugular, and he turned to Seifer with a poor attempt at a scowl. "Give me that potion."

Seifer got that smug look on his face again as he swaggered up to the shorter teen and took a moment to consider his handiwork. "I rather think I like it that way."

"Seifer..." Squall growled, reaching into his own bag of healing supplies.

Seifer grabbed his wrist, a sharp look in his eyes. "Leave them," he ordered.

Squall bristled. "The _hell_ I will! I am not going out in public looking like someone's fucking whore!"

Seifer growled deep in his throat and he tightened his grip on Squall's wrist. "You are not 'someone's whore', you are _mine_ ," he hissed. "And I intend to make sure no one mistakes you for available again; _especially_ not Rinoa."

"Seifer," Squall tried, backtracking, "I can't see the Council like this."

"Fuck. The. Council," Seifer snarled. "If not for us, they'd all be _dead_ right now. They can shove their bigoted principles up their asses with those fucking sticks of theirs. And if those twat waffles get it into their heads to try and harm you because we're together, I'll fireball _all_ their asses and leave them in hell with Ultimecia."

Squall blinked up at the fire-rimmed, angry eyes and nodded a bit numbly. "Okay."

"Good." Seifer finally let go of Squall's wrist and took a helpless look around the emptiness they were trapped in. "Now, how the _fuck_ do we get out of here?"

Squall considered that as he reattached his items bag to his belt. "Before, when we were getting ready to leave, Lagu– Dad–" he grimaced faintly at the foreign word on his tongue, "–kept going on about 'courage, friendship and love'. I thought it was a load of shit, but it's worth a shot?"

"All of that's right here, though," Seifer teased as he pulled Squall against him.

Squall snorted and wrapped his arm around Seifer's waist. "I'm touched," he said drily, though a part of him had warmed at Seifer's declaration. "Home has all those things, right? Garden has our family and friends."

"They're the reason we fought," Seifer agreed in a subdued tone. "Do you think they're okay?"

"Yes," Squall said with certainty, closing his eyes and thinking about his friends and Ellone and Laguna.

Seifer imagined the large office with the two desks that were his and Squall's; where they spent so much time toiling over paperwork and met with the others for updates and laughs.

There was a clatter to one side and someone breathed, "Hyne..."

" _You're back_!" Selphie's voice screamed and the two gunbladers barely had time to open their eyes before they were almost bowled over by the tiny firecracker.

Quistis tackled them from the other side and Ellone followed Selphie, squeezing the younger girl close to Seifer and Squall, though she didn't seem to mind. Irvine and Zell stood off to either side, looking almost like they wanted to join the huddle of hugs, so Seifer motioned them both in and they endured a bit more teary-eyed friends.

Finally, Squall's eyebrow twitched warningly, a sure sign that he'd had enough of the emotional reunions for the day – or at least for the minute – and Seifer quickly set about defusing the situation by twisting and reaching down to gently dry Selphie's eyes. "There, there. What's all this, then? Not that I _mind_ having a pretty girl hugging me..."

Selphie sniffled and pulled away to rub at her own eyes once Ellone had backed up a bit. Ellone bit her lower lip, then offered, "Time Compression was almost a month ago."

"We th-thought y-you were d-d-d-dead!" Selphie offered, rubbing furiously at her eyes.

Squall and Seifer traded surprised looks. "Ahh..." Squall managed, rubbing at his forehead. "I _hate_ Time Compression."

"You haven't, ah, had our funerals or anything, yet, right?" Seifer wondered uncertainly. " 'Cause, you know, it would sort of suck to be officially dead."

"At least _someone_ has their priorities in order," Irvine muttered before shaking his head at the Headmaster. "It's Garden policy to not declare MIA SeeDs dead until either their bodies are returned or five years have passed without word from them. Since Laguna was next of kin, we left the official announcement in his hands, but he agreed to wait."

"Your dad is kind of more awesome than I thought he was," Seifer informed Squall.

Squall's eyes widened and he dug into his pocket for his MIT. Once it was out, he hit the speed dial for his father.

 _"Loire,"_ the weary voice on the other end said.

Squall swallowed against the lump in his throat and felt better when Seifer's hand slipped into his. "...Dad?"

There was the definite sound of a chair falling over, then, _"Squall! Holy shit! Where are you?! I'll send someone to come pick you up! Is Seifer with you? Are you two okay? Where have you been?! It's been a_ month _!"_

Squall had held the MIT away from his ear sometime after his name was shouted, and Laguna was talking loud enough that they could all hear him. Smiles had appeared on everyone's face, and even Squall looked more amused than irritated with his father's usual spastic nature.

Once Squall could get a word in edgewise, he remarked, "It's a good thing I'm not bleeding to death, or I'd have been dead by the time you let me talk."

 _"You're not bleeding to death, are you?!"_ Laguna shrieked. _"Wait, wait, I'll be rig–"_

 _"Hello, Squall,"_ Kiros said calmly over the MIT, and Squall could still make out Laguna's frantic rambling in the background.

Squall snorted. "Kiros. Seifer and I are at Esthar Garden, and we're both fine."

_"Good. We'll be there in thirty minutes and you can give us your report. Why don't you have Dr Palmerton check you out while you're waiting?"_

"Really, we're both fi–"

 _"That wasn't a suggestion, Squall,"_ Kiros informed him before hanging up.

Squall scowled and hit the end button. "We've been ordered to the infirmary," he informed his lover.

Seifer sighed. "It's a valid concern," he allowed. "I take it they'll be here soon?"

"Half an hour. Sooner if they let La– Dad drive." Squall grimaced slightly.

"We'll escort you to the infirmary," Irvine decided, waving everyone towards the doors.

Squall grabbed for the messaging tablet on his desk – old desk? – only to have Seifer snatch it from his hands before he could even turn it on. "Hey!"

Seifer handed the tablet back to Irvine, saying, "Until you're cleared by Shell, you're on medical leave. That means _no work_."

"I was just going to let the other Heads know–"

"No work, Squall," Seifer said again, slipping his arm around Squall's waist.

Squall huffed a bit, but didn't bother arguing any further.

In the lift, Irvine set about sending out the required messages while Selphie gave the irritated Squall curious looks.

" _What_?" Squall finally snapped, scowl deepening when the others turned away to cover smiles.

Selphie reached out a hand and touched the hickey on his jugular. "No wonder you didn't notice a month passing."

Squall sputtered while Seifer laughed and shook his head. "It was really only a few hours for us. We'll explain everything when Laguna gets here. I promise."

It was summer break, which meant there were no students on campus and most of the Estharian staff had gone back to the city, so Garden was pretty empty. One of the few remaining Estharian staff members was Doctor Shelly Palmerton, who had no one at home in the city to return to, so she'd elected to remain on the Garden grounds at all times.

When they walked into the infirmary, Shelly had her back turned, working with something in a cupboard. "I keep telling you lot _not_ to beat each other up during your little training gigs, but you never listen, do you?" she muttered loud enough for them to hear her.

Quistis, Irvine, and Zell all winced, making it clear who she was talking to.

"I'm afraid this wasn't a training accident," Ellone offered.

Shelly whirled from her cupboard, face a mask of professional concern. Then she caught sight of the two missing Headmasters and had to catch herself on the door frame, professional mask melting away to shock, then happiness. "Hyne," she whispered. "You're okay..."

"We're alive and in one piece," Seifer agreed. "However, there are health concerns. Will you check us over?"

"We're _fine_ ," Squall muttered, but he let Seifer pull him over to one of the beds when Shelly pointed.

Shelly ran one of her hi-tech Estharian medical toys over the both of them, considering her read-out for a moment before looking up at them. Her eyes flickered briefly to the marks on Squall's neck, then she announced, "You're both low on Vitamin D – not dangerously so, but I'll give you both a shot of it just to be safe – but otherwise in perfect health. Squall, do you need a potion for those?" She raised an eyebrow, eyes again looking to his neck.

"No, he doesn't," Seifer informed their doctor. Squall just rolled his eyes, not even bothering to argue with his lover.

Shelly glanced at the blond, face professionally blank. "You're going to make a number of enemies in Esthar if the wrong people notice those."

"We already _have_ enemies in Esthar," Seifer growled, eyes flashing with fire. "I, for one, am tired of tiptoeing around them. If they want to start something over _our_ personal life–"

"Seifer." Squall pulled Seifer's face around to meet his eyes, cold hands cooling the fury in Seifer's voice and eyes even through the ripped gloves. "Shelly isn't your enemy."

Seifer closed his eyes and took a deep breath, borrowing Squall's magic to get his own under control. "Sorry, Shell," he murmured after a moment.

The door to the infirmary slid open as Shelly asked, a strange note in her voice, "Might I run one more test on you, Headmasters?"

"What sort of test?" Squall asked, turning to the doctor while their friends at the door spoke to the new arrivals.

"The test to check for Sorceress magic."

Everything got very, very still for a long moment before Squall said, "There won't be a need for that."

"With all due respect, Headmaster–"

"Seifer and I have been Sorceresses for two months – almost three for you all," Squall said, voice chilled. "There's no need to run a check to find out what we are already aware of."

There was a choked sound from near the entrance and the infirmary doors slid opened and closed.

Laguna sighed. "Elle, could you go after Kiros? Bring him to the Headmasters' office once he's calmed down?"

"Yeah," Ellone agreed and hurried after the magic-phobic man.

Laguna slipped through the shell-shocked teens crowded around the middle of the office and stopped at the end of the bed Seifer and Squall were sitting on, offering a tired smile. "Hey."

Squall nodded to his father. "Sorry we were gone so long."

"I'm just glad you're back," Laguna admitted easily. "I think your office would be more comfortable for a debrief, don't you?"

"Almost certainly," Squall agreed as he and Seifer slipped off the bed they'd been sitting on. "Shelly, did you want to come with? You've earned the right, I believe." His icy eyes focussed on her. "Perhaps it'll help you calm down."

No one missed the unspoken threat in that comment: 'If you don't agree to come with and calm down, you won't leave this room alive.'

"Of course, Headmaster," Shelly whispered, looking away.

Under Seifer and Squall's sharp gazes and Laguna's faintly troubled smile, everyone – Irvine, Quistis, Selphie, Zell, Shelly, Ward, Fujin, and Raijin – moved silently up to the Headmasters' office. When Seifer and Squall took their usual seats behind their desks and everyone else settled into the couches and chairs that littered the office, there was a definite sense of them being in trouble and about to be told their punishment.

Seifer and Squall remained ominously silent until Ellone finally led an obviously stressed Kiros in and directed him to a chair. Once Ellone had seated herself, Squall said, "The short and simple story is that a little over two – _three_ , whatever – months ago, I received the memories, para-magic, and GFs of an older version of myself, who had fallen through Time Compression after fighting the Sorceress Ultimecia. It was a bloody fight and a lot of people died, so I decided to change things. When I saw Sis at Garden, I travelled with her to Esthar, Seifer joining us en route, and I explained my memories to them.

"We worked out a plan to defeat Ultimecia before she could cause any trouble, and part of that plan involved getting rid of Adel's Tomb up in space. A consequence of that – largely because we were the only humans within a couple thousand kilometres of Adel when she died – was that Seifer and I inherited her powers. To keep each other in check, we became Knights."

"We had no intentions of creating a Garden," Seifer continued when Squall had fallen silent, "nor did we intend to pick up any of the rest of you. We knew, going into this, that there was a very real chance that we would die at Ultimecia's hands or, if not, get lost in Time Compression, as the other Squall did. Things happened and the Council gave us Garden to keep us out of their hair. We couldn't very well refuse, and it was nice to know that, even if _we_ weren't here, the five of you–" he looked over Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and Ellone, "– would have each other to lean on."

"We could have helped you, though," Selphie interrupted, expression sad. "We could have gone with you and helped you face Ultimecia, right?" She looked around at the others, all of whom nodded.

"There was too much risk," Squall said in a monotone. "I lost you in that other life, I wasn't about to lose you again."

"Well, that's a bit selfish," Quistis bit out.

"Then I'm selfish."

Seifer snorted. "You all didn't have the training. Squall had been training for over two months by then, and I for over one. _And_ we had Sorceress magic to our advantage. We had the best chance of surviving."

"This is neither here nor there," Laguna interrupted. "I take it you managed against Ultimecia?"

"Yes," Seifer agreed. "It was a pain in the ass, but we managed it. Squall's memories of the building helped a lot."

"We were separated when Time Compression rebounded," Squall added drily. "I saw Matron in the past and told her about Garden and SeeD, to keep the timeline intact. Seifer found me and we returned home."

"What happened with Matron, anyway?" Seifer asked, leaning forward.

Laguna shifted awkwardly. "We lost her and Cid Kramer when time compressed. Finding them was...not a priority."

"You mean you let the search orders get buried under piles of other paperwork on your desk," Squall commented, a spark of humour in his eyes.

"The Council would have her _head_ ," Ellone pointed out. "She's a Sorceress, and one who was moments from starting a war."

"It's not for the Council to decide," Squall said, shaking his head. "Galbadia was the one who should have a beef with her, and since she's the wife of Garden's founder, that makes her our problem." He pulled over his messaging tablet, which Irvine had returned to his desk once they'd returned to the office. "I have a pretty good idea where she is, but we'll need Galbadia to agree to let us handle this. Dad, can you tell the Council this is a Garden affair and they're not to involve themselves further?"

"Sure thing," Laguna agreed, pulling out his MIT and stepping out into the hall to call them.

Seifer shook his head at the two. "What happened to the Ragnarok?"

"Laguna wanted to leave her in Galbadia, so you could find her if you reappeared there, but the Council wouldn't let us," Irvine reported. "She's out back."

Seifer glanced at Squall, who raised an eyebrow without looking up from the message he was typing out. "I don't see why not," Squall said to the silent question. "She's their mother, too."

"Once Squall and Laguna are done, we can head to where Matron should be," Seifer decided, taking note of the smiles that lit the others' faces. He turned to Shelly, who had sat silently through the whole meeting. "Shell, do we need to keep you under lock-down in the infirmary, or will you be able to keep our secret?" She was the only wild card, after all. Even Kiros, for all his fear of magic, would never share their secret with anyone outside the office.

Shelly stiffened and said, "I wasn't raised Garden, but I understand Garden loyalty. In the two months you spent in Esthar and the weeks since that I've been a member of this staff, I've never seen either of you show any threat of the Sorceress insanity. As long as you have a Knight, I see no reason to report an unlikely threat to the Council."

"As long as we keep Seifer away from the Council, they'll never find out," Squall added, setting his tablet back in its rest. "I _told_ you your temper would get us caught."

Seifer shot him an unimpressed look. " _One person_ in two months is not a bad track record."

"Two," Squall corrected. "La– Dad only found out because of you."

Laguna stepped back into the room then, looking irritated. "They want a meeting to discuss things," he reported to his son, holding out the MIT.

Squall took it, expression sour. "What?" he demanded of them.

 _"We cannot simply allow a Sorceress free reign,"_ Minister Souhrada informed him. _"There is always a chance that she'll go rogue again–"_

"I don't know exactly what all my father explained to you, Minister, but let me repeat the important things," Squall said in a voice sweet with poison. "Edea Kramer was _possessed_ by a Sorceress from the future by the name of Ultimecia. Ultimecia is dead and, therefore, no longer capable of possessing _anyone_. Mrs Kramer has never had visions of world conquest on her own, and even if she were to suddenly develop them, both her husband and foster children are SeeDs, which makes this a _Garden_ concern, not yours."

_"Sorceresses must be sealed–"_

"Which just keeps them in suspended animation over the planet until... what, exactly? The next Lunar Cry drags them down to the planet and the seal cracks, catching the people during that time completely off guard and forcing them to deal with both a Sorceress _and_ an influx of monsters at the same time?" Squall snorted. "Don't make me laugh. Edea Kramer is a _Garden_ problem and will be handed by us. If the Estharian Council of Ministers decides to press this issue, we will push back, and you _really_ don't want to go to war over something so simple, do you?"

Souhrada was silent for a long moment before he abruptly hung up.

Squall handed the MIT back to his father. "I doubt they're done, but that should keep them distracted for long enough for us to take a trip and check on Matron."

"Let's go now, then," Laguna agreed.

They all trooped out to the Ragnarok and climbed aboard. Squall started through his pre-flight check, earning him fond smiles from everyone else, and Seifer slid into his co-pilot chair, which he turned to face the others as they settled around the room. Raijin and Fujin had elected to remain at Garden, and Ward had stayed in the conference room below the cockpit with a twitchy Kiros, but everyone else had followed the two Headmasters up and there were only two free chairs; watching everyone settle against a wall or on the floor was quite humorous.

They were just raising into the air when Selphie asked, "So, what sort of Sorceresses are you? You have a type, right?"

Seifer grinned and formed a fireball in his hand. "I'm fire, with some non-elemental magic that I never use. The non-elemental magic comes from Adel; at least, that's what Squall said."

"She was a non-elemental Sorceress," Squall agreed as he turned his chair to face them. "The only reason our magic is elemental is because of our own affinity to elements before we received the magic." He held out his own hand and formed a crystal of ice there. "I'm ice, with non-elemental magic."

"You're fire and ice?" Irvine asked, clearly amused. "That must be fun in bed."

Seifer's grin turned a bit lecherous, only for Squall to throw his ice crystal at him. Seifer blocked it with the fireball still in his hand. "That could have been dangerous," he commented.

Squall bestowed his creepy smile upon his lover. "I will let you mark me, Seifer, but if you go start spreading our sex life around to our friends, there won't be one. Do I make myself clear?"

Seifer winced, having no doubt that Squall could last without sex far longer than Seifer could. "Yeah."

"Whipped," Zell coughed.

"You wanna say that to my face, Chicken-wuss?" Seifer snapped, giving the tattooed blond a heated glare.

Zell turned to Squall with wide eyes, but the brunet snorted and turned his attention to the console with access to the messaging service. "Erm..." Zell said, inching behind Laguna.

"Xu, Martine, and Angelica have all agreed to let us decide what to do with Matron," Squall announced, flipping through the messages. "Martine also says that he will handle the Galbadian government, and Xu adds that we should tell Cid he's not getting his Headmaster position back because he needs to be his wife's Knight, not running a school."

"Yeah, about that..." Seifer muttered. "Wouldn't it have been smarter for him to have left Garden to someone else and stayed on the White SeeD ship during all those years?"

"I think..." Ellone grimaced a bit and shook her head. "He stayed to ensure you made SeeD, Squall."

"Of course he did," Squall muttered, sending acknowledgements to their fellow Headmaster and Headmistresses.

There was some laughter at that, and then they were landing outside the orphanage. As they all piled off the Ragnarok, Edea and Cid came out to greet them, Edea smiling while Cid looked stressed.

"Hello, children," Edea offered as the group of SeeDs and Ellone stopped in front of her, the three adults staying back. "I'm grateful to find you together and happy." Her eyes focussed on Seifer and Squall, who stood with their hands entwined. "You've defeated Ultimecia?"

"For now, yes," Seifer agreed. "She'll still be a problem for the future, but that's beyond our control. For the present, she's no longer a concern."

Edea nodded. "I'm glad."

"B-but you said you weren't S-SeeDs," Cid stumbled, looking confused and tiny at his wife's side. "You were G-Garden, but then you qu-uit."

"We _are_ SeeDs, Cid," Seifer said, rolling his eyes. "Xu let us take the exam when the Estharian Council of Ministers made us the Headmasters of Esthar Garden. We only kept Ultimecia believing that so she would underestimate us. If you hadn't _run away_ , you'd have _known_ that."

"Esthar Garden?" Cid wondered, his eyes brightening. "You got the Estharians to open a Garden?"

Seifer sighed and rubbed helplessly at his eyes.

Edea, however, had taken on a sad expression. "You've come to seal me, then?" she asked.

"Seal you?" Quistis asked. "No."

"Why would we seal you?" Ellone added. "It was Ultimecia who was in the wrong."

"But you're from Esthar..."

"We're from _Garden_ ," Squall corrected, a cold note in his voice. "Yes, the Estharian Council wants to seal you, but I've made it quite clear to them that this is a Garden concern, and _we_ don't believe that sealing Sorceresses is at all useful. It does nothing but leave a problem for future generations, and destroys all chance at instant communication between countries, besides."

"You weren't in the wrong, Matron," Seifer added, squeezing Squall's hand. "You were simply a tool of someone much stronger. We don't blame the sword that dealt a fatal blow, so why should we blame the person whose body was used?"

"Then what?" Edea wondered, looking over the faces of her children. When they all turned to Seifer and Squall, she too looked at them, curious.

Squall frowned faintly as he considered the crumbling orphanage behind the Kramers. "While you weren't at fault, your face is too well known for you to safely reside anywhere but in seclusion. The only people who know about this place are us and the White SeeD, and we all know you to be innocent." He focussed his eyes on Edea, who was smiling again, understanding in her eyes. "This will be your home, from now on. Yours and Cid's." His gaze flickered to the ex-Headmaster.

"But I have to return to Balamb!" Cid exclaimed.

Seifer snorted. "About that, Xu told us to tell you that you need to stay and be your wife’s Knight, not leading a school. If she sees you back in Balamb without Matron, she'll probably have you knocked out and call us to transport you back here."

Edea patted Cid's arm, amused at his crushed expression. "Perhaps it's time to leave Garden in the hands of the newer generation, dear. They certainly seem determined to take the reins, if nothing else." She turned back to the teens before her. "Will you visit?"

"Of course we will!" Selphie declared, jumping forward. She scrabbled in her pockets for a moment, then pulled out her MIT and held it out to Edea. "It's Estharian technology, a Mobile Instant Transmission Communicator. Everyone else's numbers are already programmed in it, so you can call any of us anytime you want! And we've got the Ragnarok, so we can visit all the time!" She turned to look back at Squall. "Right?"

Squall grimaced. "We'll see."

"If he won't fly you down for a visit, I will," Seifer promised, grinning when Selphie gave him a hug.

Selphie pulled back after a minute, wrinkling her nose. "No offence, Seifer, but you smell like dead things."

Seifer blinked, then looked down at himself. "Huh. I forgot we never changed."

Edea laughed and shook her head. "Well, our shower is working, if you wanted to at least clean off?"

Squall shook his head. "We'll use the showers in the Ragnarok." His eyes darted to Seifer when the blond smirked. " _No_ ," he said.

"Does that mean we're staying here for a while?" Selphie asked, eyes wide with false innocence.

"Definitely," Seifer agreed.

"Come on in, then," Edea offered while Squall silently threatened his lover with a knife that he'd pulled from nowhere. "There should still be some bread left from yesterday, and I can put the kettle on for tea..."

There was a resounding cheer at that and everyone but the two Headmasters headed into the orphanage, Ellone introducing Laguna, Kiros, and Ward as they went.

Once they were alone, Seifer gently lowered the hand holding the knife away from his throat and bestowed Squall with a gentle smile. "Let's go shower and change."

Squall sighed and slipped the knife away as they started for the ship. "No shower sex," he ordered.

"Why ever not?"

"Because neither of us wants to find out what happens when our magic mixes around water."

Seifer grimaced. "Ah, right. Good point. Hadn't thought of that." He paused for a moment, then asked, "How about changing room sex?"

Squall chased him through the ship with icicles, making the blond laugh.

Seifer caught Squall around the waist as soon as he entered the changing room attached to the showers and drew him into a kiss. "I love you," he whispered against Squall's lips.

"I know," Squall whispered back.

"And I'll never leave you."

Squall closed his eyes and pressed up for another kiss in response. He knew.

-0-0-0-  
 _Owari_  
-0-0-0-0-0-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! They all lived happily ever after! (Except the Council, who lived happily _never_ after. XD)
> 
> So, originally, I had absolutely zero interest in doing a sequel to this fic – I even had a clever little bit of snark for this author's note telling you that – but sometime after writing Sins, I thought I might like to do a post-canon fic, and since I already had _two_ fics that basically followed canon, why not write a sequel for one of them?! *insert stupid face here* I had more ideas for  Zyxt, so I decided to try my hand at it.  
> There's about 500 words written. Never got any further, though it's been sitting there for almost two months. Whether or not I ever finish it, I can't say. I _can_ say that it won't be happening any time in the coming months, as I'm sick to death of this fandom right now.  
>  Long story short: After failing to write the sequel for Zyxt, I got _another_ fic idea for this series and, well, wrote it. A whole fic, longer than this one, but following a similar premise. It's called  Noblesse Oblige and I'll be posting the first chapter shortly after this chapter's up. **Summary:** _No one thought to warn Squall against touching his younger self, and he leaves a part of himself behind when he returns to Time Compression._


End file.
